Skin-Like Strain Sensors Enabled by Elastomer Composites for Human–Machine Interfaces

Chunki Yiu, Tsz Hung Wong, Yiming Liu, Kuanming Yao, Ling Zhao, Dengfeng Li, Zhao Hai, Huanxi Zheng, Zuankai Wang, Xinge Yu
2020 Coatings  
Flexible electronics exhibit tremendous potential applications in biosensing and human–machine interfaces for their outstanding mechanical performance and excellent electrical characteristics. In this work, we introduce a soft, skin-integrated strain sensor enabled by a ternary elastomer composite of graphene/carbon nanotube (CNT)/Ecoflex, providing a low-cost skin-like platform for conversion of mechanical motion to electricity and sensing of human activities. The device exhibits high
more » ... ty (the absolute value of the resistance change rate under a testing strain level, 26) and good mechanical stability (surviving ~hundreds of cycles of repeated stretching). Due to the advanced mechanical design of the metallic electrode, the strain sensor shows excellent mechanical tolerance to pressing, bending, twisting, and stretching. The flexible sensor can be directly mounted onto human skin for detecting mechanical motion, exhibiting its great potential in wearable electronics and human–machine interfaces.
doi:10.3390/coatings10080711 fatcat:5kyulzuvbjeenh4h2h4e32gbha