Skin-inspired highly stretchable and conformable matrix networks for multifunctional sensing

Qilin Hua, Junlu Sun, Haitao Liu, Rongrong Bao*, Ruomeng Yu, Junyi Zhai, Caofeng Pan, Zhong Lin Wang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1178 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Mechanosensation electronics (or Electronic skin, e-skin) consists of mechanically flexible and stretchable sensor networks that can detect and quantify various stimuli to mimic the human somatosensory system, with the sensations of touch, heat/cold, and pain in skin through various sensory receptors and neural pathways. Here we present a skin-inspired highly stretchable and conformable matrix network (SCMN) that successfully expands the e-skin sensing functionality including but not limited to temperature, in-plane strain, humidity, light, magnetic field, pressure, and proximity. The actualized specific expandable sensor units integrated on a structured polyimide network, potentially in three-dimensional (3D) integration scheme, can also fulfill simultaneous multi-stimulus sensing and achieve an adjustable sensing range and large-area expandability. We further construct a personalized intelligent prosthesis and demonstrate its use in real-time spatial pressure mapping and temperature estimation. Looking forward, this SCMN has broader applications in humanoid robotics, new prosthetics, human-machine interfaces, and health-monitoring technologies.

Original languageEnglish
Article number244
JournalNature Communications
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2018
Externally publishedYes

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Hua, Q., Sun, J., Liu, H., Bao, R., Yu, R., Zhai, J., Pan, C., & Wang, Z. L. (2018). Skin-inspired highly stretchable and conformable matrix networks for multifunctional sensing. Nature Communications, 9(1), Article 244. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02685-9