Micro-fabrication Based Epidermal E-tattoo with Conformability and Sensitivity as Human-Machine Interface

Abstract

To fulfill intelligent human-machine interface, the crucial information about the human health condition tends to be acquired with great sensitivity, stability and durability. Despite some remarkable progress for the bioelectric signal perception in recent years, the epidermal electrode still suffers from the motion artifacts, inability and sweat permeability. So the evolution of high-performance epidermal electrode has been the research focus and receives much attention in recent years. To satisfy the growing pursuit for smarter sensing, this article proposes a cost-effective strategy to fabricate e-tattoo epidermal electrode for acquisition of the epidermal bioelectric signal and provides demonstrations of electrocardiograph and electromyography applications. The maximum current change is only 1.6% in the 3-dimensional strain electrical test, and the maximum strain range could reach 40% for a normal usage. The mechanism relies upon conformal contact between the electrode and skin texture with ultra-thin process scale, which makes the device achieves high sensitivity and durability in a human-machine interface. The gesture recognition and wearable device demonstration further concludes by discussing the outlook and current challenges of these technologies as a human-machine interface and bring up the potential of clinical application.