A Bioinspired Wireless Epidermal Photoreceptor for Artificial Skin Vision

Abstract

Skin vision can be found in many invertebrates, such as earthworms, jellyfish, and octopuses using light-sensitive rod cells in the skin. It enables optical perception and colorimetric responses, providing intriguing capabilities that human skin does not have. A bioinspired wireless, battery-free, artificial skin vision (ASV) device consisting of flexible optical and optoelectronic components which essentially mimic the hierarchical structures and biological functions of rod cells in a skin-like configuration for light sensing and signal processing is developed. The ASV device can collect sweat with integrated microfluidic channels and allow real-time measurement of on-skin fluids by monitoring the intrinsic optical properties via a customizable microprism light filter. The device also shows sensitive colorimetric responses to input stimulus at chosen detection wavelengths and demonstrates a capacity for in situ quantitative analysis of biomarkers in sweat through alternative colorimetric light filters. Multiple ASVs together create a body area network with a collection of wireless sensors that can work in parallel to acquire multidimensional human physiological signals and predict fitness variations using a specified deep learning neural network. The system has potential applications in biomimetic engineering, physiological monitoring, and intelligent personalized diagnostics.

Wearable Sweat Loss Measuring Devices: From the Role of Sweat Loss to Advanced Mechanisms and Designs

“…To address this, Rogers and co‐workers proposed resettable microfluidics‐based SLMDs, which combined a strain‐actuated elastomeric suction pump to manually expel collected sweat and an elastomeric pinch valve to prevent undesirable sweat ingress into the former (Figure 15e ). [ 184 ] The SSV can be visualized according to pre‐estimated indicator dots using reversible light‐scattering effect (relying on surface microstructure [ 185 ] ) without the need for dyes in the serpentine microchannel. Notably, users can manually grasp and pull the bottom of the device to reset and reuse the device below the threshold of the collected SSV.…”

Robotic Manipulation under Harsh Conditions Using Self‐Healing Silk‐Based Iontronics

“…As shown in the process diagram of Figure 3a, after collecting data from strain sensors mounted on both human and robotic hand joints (Figures S8 and S9, Supporting Information), a specified pattern recognition ANN was used for information processing, enabling accurate data classification. [19,32,33] The stable electrical properties and high sensitivity of silkbased iontronics used in strain sensors ensure accurate sensing of various degrees of joint bending and are suitable for use in temperatures as harsh as −25 and 80 °C (Figure 3b). Importantly, operation in these temperatures is likely to cause the robot to malfunction without reliable feedback; our solution provides a general robust monitoring method to solve this issue.…”

Biomimicking Antibacterial Opto‐Electro Sensing Sutures Made of Regenerated Silk Proteins

“…These materials, structures, and systems resemble the intriguing architecture found in nature and also exhibit their corresponding functions. [11][12][13] In this natural context, spider-silk fibers are renowned for their excellent mechanical properties, including high-tensile strength and moderate elasticityboth of which are crucial advantages in surgical suture technology. [14,15] In particular, the heterogeneous hierarchical structure of spider-silk fibers is relatively less focused or reported.…”