Conductive graphene-based E-textile for highly sensitive, breathable, and water-resistant multimodal gesture-distinguishable sensors

Wearable tactile sensors that can perceive and respond to environmental stimuli can improve the health and even change the lifestyle of humans. However, traditional tactile sensors face many challenges in their practical application, such as flexibility, multi-functional integration, wearable comfort, and high sensitivity. Thus, herein, to solve these challenges, a hybrid copper particle-functionalized graphene textile (defined as graphene E-textile) is reported for the fabrication of multi-functional tactile sensors through a simple, scalable, and cost-effective approach with excellent electrical conductivity, softness, breathability, and wash-resistance. Moreover, the graphene E-textile-based wearable tactile sensors realized pressure, strain, and bend sensing through a single device. The sensor unit also demonstrated high sensitivity, low detection limit, fast response, and mechanical stability under severe deformation. Owing to these key merits, the wearable sensor was capable of retrieving physiological data pertaining to the human body (real-time pulse wave and breathing rate) and multiple behaviors of the human body (running, walking, handwriting, voice, etc.). Furthermore, a bionic hand was successfully assembled based on the graphene E-textile sensor to follow hand-making mechanical gestures, suggesting its potential for use in smart electronic textiles and wearable electronics.