Flexible Tactile Sensor Array Based on Aligned MWNTs-PU Composited Sub-Microfibers

Abstract

This present paper describes a novel method to fabricate tactile sensor arrays by producing aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-polyurethane (PU) composite sub-microfiber (SMF) arrays with the electrospinning technique. The proposed sensor was designed to be used as the artificial skin for a tactile sensation system. Although thin fibers in micro- and nanoscale have many good mechanical characteristics and could enhance the alignment of MWNTs inside, the high impedance as a consequence of a small section handicaps its application. In this paper, unidirectional composite SMFs were fabricated orthogonally to the parallel electrodes through a low-cost method to serve as sensitive elements (SEs), and the impedances of SEs were measured to investigate the changes with deformation caused by applied force. The particular piezoresistive mechanism of MWNTs disturbed in SMF was analyzed. The static and dynamic test results of the fabricated tactile sensor were also presented to validate the performance of the proposed design.

Flexible tactile sensors for dynamic triaxial force measurement based on piezoelectric elastomer

“…Therefore, for decades, the development of flexible tactile sensors without sacrificing the performance has been attracting much attention from global researchers [5][6][7][8]. Various mechanisms of tactile sensors were developed and showed promising properties, including piezoelectric [9][10][11], piezoresistive [12][13][14][15][16], triboelectric [17], capacitive [18][19][20] and optical [21][22][23] mechanisms, etc Among these different mechanisms, the piezoelectric sensor exhibits high sensitivity and quick response to a wide range of dynamic mechanical 1 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed stimulation despite that it can barely response to static force, which means the output of piezoelectrical material to a static force would evenly drop to zero in a short time. In addition, the self-power property can simplify the system of the piezoelectric tactile sensor, which is particularly important in the application of limit spaces, such as robotic finger tips.…”

Editorial for the Special Issue on Polymer Based MEMS and Microfabrication

“…Two flexible arrays developed for measuring pressure [6] or providing electrical signals to cochlear implants [7] are reported. In the case of cochlear implants, Parylene-C again is the polymer of choice, but in this work it is reinforced with Kapton to aid in insertion of sensors into tissues.…”

“…In the case of cochlear implants, Parylene-C again is the polymer of choice, but in this work it is reinforced with Kapton to aid in insertion of sensors into tissues. For Liu’s reported sensor [6], aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes in a polyurethane matrix are electrospun to produce an artificial skin. Unidirectional piezoresistivity can be measured when the sub-micron composite fibers are pressed between two electrodes.…”