In a promising step toward more sustainable electronics, researchers from Japan have developed a self-folding sensor that powers itself using the triboelectric effect, reducing the need for traditional batteries.
Researchers from Japan have developed a novel battery-free, lightweight, and low-cost sensor called CO-TENG that utilizes paper self-folding technology and triboelectric power generation. It holds significant potential for real-world applications as a smart cushioning sensor for logistics, wearable electronics, and sustainable packaging. Image Credit: Dr. Hiroki Shigemune from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan
Sensors are embedded in everything from smartphones and wearables to industrial systems and supply chains. However, most rely on rigid components and external power sources, limiting their use in flexible or soft systems. Addressing this gap, a team from the Shibaura Institute of Technology has introduced a new kind of energy-harvesting sensor built using origami-inspired folding and a triboelectric nanogenerator.
Their creation, called the Corrugated Origami Triboelectric Nanogenerator (CO-TENG), is a lightweight, battery-free, and cost-effective sensor. By blending paper self-folding techniques with triboelectric power generation, CO-TENG offers exciting potential for smart cushioning in logistics, wearable tech, and sustainable packaging.
Origami—the centuries-old Japanese art of paper folding—has found modern relevance in engineering, influencing everything from deployable space structures to bio-inspired robotics. CO-TENG builds on this tradition by integrating a triboelectric nanogenerator into a self-assembling paper structure. The sensor generates electricity through mechanical motion—like pressure or contact—without the need for batteries.
The team, led by Associate Professor Hiroki Shigemune and including researchers Haruki Higoshi and Daichi Naritomi, constructed the device using layers of copper (conductive electrode) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, as the triboelectric material) laminated onto paper. They printed a self-folding ink pattern onto the substrate using a standard inkjet printer, allowing the structure to assemble itself into a 3D form.
The result is a low-cost, eco-friendly sensor that operates independently of batteries. Their findings were published in Advanced Materials Technologies.
We were inspired by the structural elegance of origami and the rising need for sustainable, maintenance-free sensor solutions. So, we combined origami with the triboelectric effect to unlock a smart system that can build and power itself.
Dr. Hiroki Shigemune, Associate Professor, Shibaura Institute of Technology
The device produces electrical signals by converting mechanical stress into energy through friction between its laminated materials. Thanks to the self-folding mechanism, manual assembly is minimized, which makes CO-TENG an attractive solution for scalable smart devices.
To fine-tune the sensor’s performance, the team studied how factors like paper thickness and ink line width influenced fold angles and force. Starting with a single fold, they expanded the design into a multi-fold corrugated structure to boost energy output. Serially connecting multiple folds significantly increased power generation and demonstrated high durability across 1000 compression cycles.
They also tested the sensor in a real-world scenario: a smart cushioning system. When objects were dropped onto the CO-TENG surface, the resulting electrical signals reflected the impact force. Using machine learning (LightGBM), the system successfully identified different objects with an impressive 98.9 % accuracy.
Smart cushioning could be a game-changer in logistics. By using the CO-TENG system, dropped objects can be automatically identified and monitored in real-time, offering new capabilities in shipment tracking and product integrity verification.
Mr. Haruki Higoshi, Shibaura Institute of Technology
Beyond logistics, the CO-TENG nanogenerator also shows strong potential in the medical and electronics industries. Its high flexibility makes it well-suited for wearable devices that monitor body movement, posture, or external impacts in real-time—particularly useful in elderly care and rehabilitation settings. Thanks to its compact, lightweight design, CO-TENG is an excellent fit for soft, mobile, and on-demand devices, including personalized health monitoring platforms powered by IoT.
Its foldable structure adds another practical advantage: reduced storage and transport costs—an important consideration for large-scale manufacturing and deployment across industries.
Overall, this research brings together materials science, mechanical design, and electronics in a creative way—pushing forward the development of smart, sustainable sensors.
Journal Reference:
Higoshi, H., et al. (2025) Self-Folded Corrugated Origami Sensor Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerator for a Smart Cushioning Device. Advanced Materials Technologies. doi.org/10.1002/admt.202500032