Self‐Folded Corrugated Origami Sensor Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerator for a Smart Cushioning Device

Abstract Origami technology has been gaining attention across various fields for its ability to impart mechanical properties to sheet materials. In this study, a corrugated origami triboelectric nanogenerator (CO‐TENG) soft sensor using paper self‐folding technology is developed to laminate conductive and charged layers onto paper. The mechanical performance of the paper self‐folding technology is investigated to verify its capability to form an origami structure with other functional sheets. The self‐folding technology creates hinges with elastic memory properties, which enable the conversion of unidirectional kinetic energy into periodic electrical energy. The series connection of the origami TENGs is enabled and improved their output. Specific mechanical evaluations are conducted, including frequency response, the effect of the number of series connections, external load, and a 1000‐cycle repeated test. Additionally, as a demonstration for smart cushioning devices, the output signal obtained from CO‐TENG are classified using LightGBM to identify the dropped objects, which achieved a recognition accuracy of 98.9%. This research is expected to be a core technology for realizing environmentally friendly wearable sensors and smart packaging technologies.