A wearable strain sensor based on a carbonized nano-sponge/silicone composite for human motion detection

Abstract

Melamine sponge, also known as nano-sponge, is widely used as an abrasive cleaner in our daily life. In this work, the fabrication of a wearable strain sensor for human motion detection is first demonstrated with a commercially available nano-sponge as a starting material. The key resistance sensitive material in the wearable strain sensor is obtained by the encapsulation of a carbonized nano-sponge (CNS) with silicone resin. The as-fabricated CNS/silicone sensor is highly sensitive to strain with a maximum gauge factor of 18.42. In addition, the CNS/silicone sensor exhibits a fast and reliable response to various cyclic loading within a strain range of 0-15% and a loading frequency range of 0.01-1 Hz. Finally, the CNS/silicone sensor as a wearable device for human motion detection including joint motion, eye blinking, blood pulse and breathing is demonstrated by attaching the sensor to the corresponding parts of the human body. In consideration of the simple fabrication technique, low material cost and excellent strain sensing performance, the CNS/silicone sensor is believed to have great potential in the next-generation of wearable devices for human motion detection.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-Based Flexible Resistive Strain Sensors for Wearable Applications

“…The substrate functions as the flexible support structure of the wearable resistive strain sensors; the properties of the substrate materials directly determine the sensor's elastic performance. Many commercialized polymers can be used to construct flexible substrates for wearable resistive strain sensors; these include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [48], polyimide (PI) [49], polyethylene (PE) [50], polyurethane (PU) [51], Ecoflex [52], and PDMS [53]. Among them, PDMS is the most widely used material for flexible substrate fabrication because of its excellent comprehensive performance.…”

Transparent, Highly Stretchable, Rehealable, Sensing, and Fully Recyclable Ionic Conductors Fabricated by One‐Step Polymerization Based on a Small Biological Molecule

“…Besides, the poor transparency hinders their application in touch screens and biomedical imaging. Additionally, the expensive nanomaterials, relative complicated, and time‐consuming fabrication processes are also significant limiting factors toward the application of these stretchable conductors …”

Design and Anchorage Dependence of Shape Memory Alloy Actuators on Enhanced Voiding of a Bladder

“…[43] However, the catheter should be inserted through urethra, or via a surgery through an incision in the bladder wall that is cumbersome and invasive. For this reason, using of flexible sensors, [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] that could be fixed on the surface of bladder or inside the vest, may provide the information on the bladder filling status without the need of making an incision in the bladder wall. [44,45] In our study, we used a commercial FlexiForce force sensor (South Boston, MA) to accurately quantify the effect of bladder filling on the resistance change of the sensor.…”

“…When the bladder reaches its maximum volume, the force sensor will inform the patient to actuate the device. Several sensors, such as flexible strain, pressure, or tactile sensors, [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] can be integrated with the actuating device to sense the status of bladder fullness; however, to quantify the bladder fullness accurately, in our study we use a commercial force sensor to provide the feedback control signal to the patient.…”