An Intelligent Tactile Sensor Based on Interlocked Carbon Nanotube Array for Ultrasensitive Physiological Signal Detection and Real‐Time Monitoring

Abstract

AbstractHuman–robot interaction has become increasingly important due to technological advances in robotics. The tactile sensation range of humans ranges from detecting the touch of a hair (≈0.6 Pa) to the touch of a finger (<10 kPa). Therefore, flexible pressure sensors with high sensitivity and a suitable pressure response range are vital to human–robot interaction. However, it is difficult to attain both sensitivity and a suitable pressure response in one device. This study proposes and prepares a flexible piezoresistive pressure sensor based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/carbon cloth (CC). The high performance of the sensor stems from the interlocked CNTs structure and the multistage contact at different pressures. The interlocked CNT structure endows the sensor with a low detection limit (≈0.15 Pa) and high sensitivity (120 kPa−1) in the pressure range (0–0.5 kPa). The flexible pressure sensor with an interlocked structure has significant potential as a wearable biosensor for healthcare applications. Furthermore, the sensor facilitates grasping soft objects due to high tactile sensitivity. In addition, the CNTs/CC‐based sensor can also be used as a bending sensor to develop a hand grasping model. Therefore, the proposed CNTs/CC‐based sensor is well suited for human–machine interaction and improving the tactile perception of robots.