A Structured Design for Highly Stretchable Electronic Skin

The sensation of pressure is at the core of haptics, and can be achieved by pressure sensors in an electronic skin. Although a number of multifunctional sensors can be fabricated by adopting diverse microstructures and functional materials, achieving electronic skin with superior sensing capabilities under large-scale deformations is challenging. A highly stretchable electronic skin based on a structured design is proposed and fabricated. It exhibits stable response and long-term durability in sensing pressure due to improved strain isolation and restrained interfacial failure, in situations nearly regardless of what large-scale deformations the electronic skins may undergo, such as stretching, bending, or even twisting. Experimental studies and finite element analyses show that their mechanical properties allow these electronic skins to function during large motions including bending states of fingers and wrists. The advanced development of electronic skin demonstrates potential applications in intelligent robots, bionic prostheses, health monitoring, human-machine interfaces, and other fields.