Multimodal\nFibrous Static and Dynamic Tactile Sensor

Abstract

A highly\nversatile, low-cost, and robust tactile sensor capable\nof acquiring load measurements under static and dynamic modes employing\na poly­(vinylidene fluoride-<i>co</i>-trifluoroethylene)\n[P­(VDF-TrFE)] micronanofiber element is presented. The sensor is comprised\nof three essential layers, a fibrous core P­(VDF-TrFE) layer and two\nNi/Cu conductive fabric electrode layers, with a total thickness of\nless than 300 μm. Using an <i>in situ</i> electrospinning\nprocess, the core fibers are deposited directly to a soft poly­(dimethylsiloxane)\n(PDMS) fingertip. The core layer conforms to the surface and requires\nno additional processing, exhibiting the capability of the <i>in situ</i> electrospinning fabrication method to alleviate\npoor surface contacts and resolve issues associated with adhesion.\nThe fabricated tactile sensor displayed a reliable and consistent\nmeasurement performance of static and instantaneous dynamic loads\nover a total of 30 000 test cycles. The capabilities and implications\nof the presented tactile sensor design for multimodal sensing in robot\ntactile sensing applications is further discussed and elucidated.