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A Raindrop Energy Harvester for Application to Microrobots

Author

Listed:
  • Xibin Li

    (Robot Division, Shandong Guoxing Smartech Co., Ltd., Yantai 250100, China)

  • Lianjian Luo

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, China)

  • Chenghua Tian

    (Beijing Research Institute of Automation for Machinery Industry Co., Ltd., Beijing 100006, China)

  • Chuan Zhou

    (School of Information Engineering, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Bo Huang

    (State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Weihai 264200, China)

  • Rujun Song

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, China)

  • Junlong Guo

    (State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Weihai 264200, China)

Abstract

The limitations of traditional fossil fuels have prompted researchers to develop new renewable energy technologies. Raindrop impact energy has become a research hotspot in the field of energy harvesting due to its wide distribution and renewability, especially in the self-energy supply of microrobots. The energy harvester is installed on the robot, utilizing piezoelectric-energy-harvesting technology to achieve self-energy supply for the robot, but the efficiency of existing raindrop energy harvesters is unsatisfactory. In order to better collect the impact energy of raindrops and broaden the application of piezoelectric energy harvesters in the field of autonomous energy supply of robots, inspired by the vibration generated by raindrop excitation of plant leaves in nature, a raindrop energy harvester for autonomous energy supply for robots was proposed through the bionic leaf design, a mathematical model was established for numerical simulation analysis, and the effects of excitation position, excitation height, petiole length and excitation rate on the output performance of the harvester were analyzed. Numerical simulation and experimental test results show that the piezoelectric energy harvester has a higher output at the excitation position at the tip. The higher the excitation height of the water droplet, the higher the output voltage. Increasing the length of the petiole can significantly improve its performance output, and at the same time, the raindrop excitation rate will also affect its output to a certain extent.

Suggested Citation

  • Xibin Li & Lianjian Luo & Chenghua Tian & Chuan Zhou & Bo Huang & Rujun Song & Junlong Guo, 2025. "A Raindrop Energy Harvester for Application to Microrobots," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-15, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:16:p:4233-:d:1720698
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zhou, Jiaxi & Zhao, Xuhui & Wang, Kai & Chang, Yaopeng & Xu, Daolin & Wen, Guilin, 2021. "Bio-inspired bistable piezoelectric vibration energy harvester: Design and experimental investigation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    2. Han, Minglei & Yang, Xu & Wang, Dong F. & Jiang, Lei & Song, Wei & Ono, Takahito, 2022. "A mosquito-inspired self-adaptive energy harvester for multi-directional vibrations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    3. Liu, Mengzhou & Zhang, Yuan & Fu, Hailing & Qin, Yong & Ding, Ao & Yeatman, Eric M., 2023. "A seesaw-inspired bistable energy harvester with adjustable potential wells for self-powered internet of train monitoring," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
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