Next Article in Journal
A Data-Driven ML Model for Sand Channel Prediction from Well Logs for UTES Site Optimization and Thermal Breakthrough Prevention: Hungary Case Study
Previous Article in Journal
Coordinated Thermal and Electrical Balancing for Lithium-Ion Cells
Previous Article in Special Issue
Wireless Temperature Monitoring of a Shaft Based on Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
 
 
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

A Raindrop Energy Harvester for Application to Microrobots

by
Xibin Li
1,
Lianjian Luo
2,
Chenghua Tian
3,
Chuan Zhou
4,
Bo Huang
5,6,
Rujun Song
2,* and
Junlong Guo
5,6,*
1
Robot Division, Shandong Guoxing Smartech Co., Ltd., Yantai 250100, China
2
School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, China
3
Beijing Research Institute of Automation for Machinery Industry Co., Ltd., Beijing 100006, China
4
School of Information Engineering, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
5
State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
6
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Weihai 264200, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2025, 18(16), 4233; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18164233
Submission received: 10 June 2025 / Revised: 17 July 2025 / Accepted: 5 August 2025 / Published: 8 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations and Applications in Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting)

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.
Keywords: piezoelectric energy harvester; raindrop energy; bionic leaf; mathematical models; self-powered robot piezoelectric energy harvester; raindrop energy; bionic leaf; mathematical models; self-powered robot

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Li, X.; Luo, L.; Tian, C.; Zhou, C.; Huang, B.; Song, R.; Guo, J. A Raindrop Energy Harvester for Application to Microrobots. Energies 2025, 18, 4233. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18164233

AMA Style

Li X, Luo L, Tian C, Zhou C, Huang B, Song R, Guo J. A Raindrop Energy Harvester for Application to Microrobots. Energies. 2025; 18(16):4233. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18164233

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Xibin, Lianjian Luo, Chenghua Tian, Chuan Zhou, Bo Huang, Rujun Song, and Junlong Guo. 2025. "A Raindrop Energy Harvester for Application to Microrobots" Energies 18, no. 16: 4233. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18164233

APA Style

Li, X., Luo, L., Tian, C., Zhou, C., Huang, B., Song, R., & Guo, J. (2025). A Raindrop Energy Harvester for Application to Microrobots. Energies, 18(16), 4233. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18164233

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop