A sound way to deliver power: Implanted medical devices, such as pacemakers and neurological stimulators, require a source of power, usually in the form of a battery. If a battery is implanted with the device, replacing it would require additional surgery. On the other hand, external power packs are prone to lead to infections where their wires enter the body. Hinchet et al. describe a triboelectric generator that can convert externally applied ultrasound into an internal electricity source capable of delivering sufficient energy to recharge a battery on a daily basis. Science , this issue p. 491

Serious climate changes and energy-related environmental problems are currently critical issues in the world. In order to reduce carbon emissions and save our environment, renewable energy harvesting technologies will serve as a key solution in the near future. Among them, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which is one of the most promising mechanical energy harvesters by means of contact electrification phenomenon, are explosively developing due to abundant wasting mechanical energy sources and a number of superior advantages in a wide availability and selection of materials, relatively simple device configurations, and low-cost processing. Significant experimental and theoretical efforts have been achieved toward understanding fundamental behaviors and a wide range of demonstrations since its report in 2012. As a result, considerable technological advancement has been exhibited and it advances the timeline of achievement in the proposed roadmap. Now, the technology has reached the stage of prototype development with verification of performance beyond the lab scale environment toward its commercialization. In this review, distinguished authors in the world worked together to summarize the state of the art in theory, materials, devices, systems, circuits, and applications in TENG fields. The great research achievements of researchers in this field around the world over the past decade are expected to play a major role in coming to fruition of unexpectedly accelerated technological advances over the next decade.