High‐Speed Data Communication for Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerator.

Triboelectric nanogenerator‐based environmental energy harvesting technology is not only for the applications of the Internet of Things but also has a revolutionary impact on traditional industrial fields. Advanced oil and natural gas drilling technology, for example, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, has important environmental concerns about water and atmospheric pollution. High data transmission rates and visual and real‐time monitoring are considered potential solutions to avoid both economic and environmental problems. The current data transmission rate for oil and gas drilling is just 5–40 bits per second, despite commercial fifth generation (5G) and future sixth generation (6G) wireless communication technologies with data rates of 10–1000 gigabits per second. Herein, a self‐powered while‐drilling communications system based on a triboelectric nanogenerator is reported. The data transmission rate is three orders of magnitude higher than the traditional method. The free‐standing layered mode triboelectric nanogenerators (FS‐TENGs) can achieve fast information transfer using the harvested energy from the vibration of the pipe wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]