Flexible Pressure Sensors in Human–Machine Interface Applications

Abstract

Flexible sensors are highly flexible, malleable, and capable of adapting todifferent shapes, surfaces, and environments, which opens a wide range ofpotential applications in the field of human‐machine interface (HMI). Inparticular, flexible pressure sensors as a crucial member of the flexiblesensor family, are widely used in wearable devices, health monitoringinstruments, robots and other fields because they can achieve accuratemeasurement and convert the pressure into electrical signals. The mostintuitive feeling that flexible sensors bring to people is the change ofhuman‐machine interface interaction, from the previous rigid interaction suchas keyboard and mouse to flexible interaction such as smart gloves, more inline with people's natural control habits. Many advanced flexible pressuresensors have emerged through extensive research and development, and to adaptto various fields of application. Researchers have been seeking to enhanceperformance of flexible pressure sensors through improving materials, sensingmechanisms, fabrication methods, and microstructures. This paper reviews the flexible pressure sensors in HMI in recent years, mainlyincluding the following aspects: current cutting‐edge flexible pressuresensors; sensing mechanisms, substrate materials and active materials; sensorfabrication, performances, and their optimization methods; the flexiblepressure sensors for various HMI applications and their prospects.

Nanoengineering Ultrathin Flexible Pressure Sensors with Superior Sensitivity and Wide Range via Nanocomposite Structures

“…Flexible pressure sensors own many unique characteristics such as bendability, stretchability, and lightweight; thus, they offer the possibility to address the shortcomings of traditional rigid pressure sensors and are especially suitable for cases with large deformation and curved surfaces. Among various types, resistive flexible pressure sensors rely on a simple mechanism by converting the applied pressure into resistance change, making them easy to implement in medical diagnostics, − tactile sensing, − human–machine interaction, − and other fields.…”