Kirigami interactive triboelectric mechanologic

Abstract

Mechanical logic and computation embedded in deployable structures are complementary to conventional digital logic schemes for autonomous sense, decision, and response in artificial intelligence and bio-robots. It is highly desired that responsive and adaptive structures can readily interact with external stimuli to implement mechanologic (e.g., writing, erasing, and rewriting mechanical bit) in an energy-efficient way. Here, we demonstrate kirigami interactive triboelectric mechanologic composed of a deployable kirigami geometry triggered by triboelectric signal for the first time, aiming at developing interactive and programmable mechanical computation. The interactive triboelectric mechanologic is inspired by human somatic reflex arc system to emulate the continual sensation–decision–response loop, which includes a self-powered triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) mechanoreceptor, a signal transmission/processing module, and an elaborately designed kirigami geometry with bistable resistive states to represent mechanologic. When the mechanoreceptor is imposed to mechanical stimuli, the induced triboelectric signals activate the bistable state conversion in the kirigami geometry and endow it with adaptive capacity to output binary mechanical bits. We successfully demonstrate the application of interactive triboelectric mechanologic as a mechanical flip-flop, register, and asynchronous binary counter. This work provides a new route to self-activation mechanologic computation relying on the extended application of TENG for self-driven sensing and actuation.