The disclosure provides an electricity generating insert for a piece of footwear, the insert can be removably placed in the heel portion, e.g. under the insole. The insert comprises a multilayer piezoelectric stack that alternatively flexes under the compression-decompression that occurs during locomotion, which flexing causes friction in the stack to generate electricity capable of charging electronic devices and the like, e.g. via a port on the footwear.

A piezo-electric actuator on the side of a mobile device will enable pressure exerted by the user to be sensed at the conventional button locations, while providing a haptic feedback. Unfortunately, mechanical integration of piezo-electric actuators at the side of a mobile device is challenging. A mobile device in accordance with the present disclosure comprises a PCB; an outer frame surrounding the PCB; and a switch. The switch comprises: a first piezo-electric actuator configured to generate a first actuator voltage signal in response to a first force applied by a user, and to generate a first haptic feedback to the user in response to a first haptic voltage signal transmitted from the controller thereto; and a first virtual button in the outer frame configured to transmit the first force to the first piezo-electric actuator, and to transmit the first haptic feedback to the user.

Systems and methods for in-situ monitoring of gearbox are provided. An example system includes a mounting plate coupled to a component within the gearbox and a transducer array having a plurality of piezoelectric transducers disposed thereon to ultrasonically obtain diagnostic information about one or more components in the gearbox. The plurality of piezoelectric transducers are in contact with a surface of one or more mechanical components within the gearbox. The system includes circuitry, at least a portion of which is mounted inside the gearbox, electrically couplable to the transducer array, the circuitry configured to direct an excitation signal to a selected piezoelectric transducer of the plurality of piezoelectric transducers, and direct a response received from one or more of the plurality of piezoelectric transducers in proximity to the selected piezoelectric transducer toward a processor programmed or configured to determine gearbox diagnostic information therefrom.

A device and a method for determining and/or monitoring at least one process variable of a medium include a sensor unit having a mechanically oscillatable unit, at least a first piezoelectric element, a conductivity/capacitance detecting unit for determining and/or monitoring a conductivity and/or capacitance of the medium and an electronics unit. The device is embodied to excite the mechanically oscillatable unit by means of an excitation signal such that mechanical oscillations are executed, to receive the mechanical oscillations of the oscillatable unit, to convert them into a first received signal, to transmit a transmitted signal, and to receive a second received signal. The electronics unit is embodied, based on the first and/or second received signal, to determine the at least one process variable of the medium.

Provided are a piezoelectric material, a piezoelectric member, a piezoelectric element and a pressure sensor that can be used in high-temperature environments. The piezoelectric material is composed of Sr-substituted akermanite represented by Ca.sub.(2-x)Sr.sub.xMgSi.sub.2O.sub.7 (0.1≤x≤0.6).

Illustrative embodiments enable a MEMS transducer to quickly recover from, acoustic overload events by quickly resetting signal processing circuitry downstream from a MEMS transducer. An acoustic overload sensor detects occurrence of an acoustic overload event, and triggers a reset circuit to operate a set of switches to rapidly drain charge from a corresponding set of capacitances within the transducer, or within the signal processing circuitry, thereby resetting the signal processing circuitry more rapidly than would occur if said transducer or circuitry were allowed to recover on its own.

A piezoelectric element that includes a substrate, a lower electrode layer on the substrate, an intermediate layer on the lower electrode layer, and an upper electrode layer on the intermediate layer. The intermediate layer includes a first piezoelectric layer including an aluminum nitride as a main component thereof and located between the lower electrode layer and the upper electrode layer, a first buffer layer including an aluminum nitride as a main component and located between the first piezoelectric layer and the upper electrode layer, a first intermediate electrode layer located between the first buffer layer and the upper electrode layer, and a second piezoelectric layer located between the first intermediate electrode layer and the upper electrode layer.

Highly deformable heterostructures utilizing liquid metals and nanostructures that are suitable for various applications, including but not limited to stretchable electronic devices that can be worn, for example, by a human being. Such a deformable heterostructure includes a stretchable substrate, a conductive liquid metal on the substrate, and nanostructures forming a solid-liquid heterojunction with the conductive liquid metal.

A multi-layer insulation includes a plurality of layers that are laminated on each other. A detection layer that is at least one of the plurality of layers has a piezoelectric film, and a pair of electrode parts installed on both surfaces of the piezoelectric film.

The module comprises a pendular unit with an elastically deformable piezoelectric beam having a clamped end and an opposite, free end, coupled to an inertial mass. The beam produces an oscillating electrical signal collected by electrodes, which is rectified and regulated to output a voltage for charging a battery. The number and configuration of the electrodes (T1, T2, B1, B2, N) carried by the piezoelectric beam define a plurality of pairs of electrodes between which a corresponding plurality of said oscillating signals can be simultaneously collected. A switching matrix, as a function of an input command, selectively switches the plurality of pairs of electrodes between each other according to a plurality of different series (S), parallel (P) and/or series-parallel (SP) configurations, the selected configuration being that which maximizes the power sent to the battery as a function of the voltage level (VBAT) present at the terminals of the latter.