Biocompatible, Flexible Strain Sensor Fabricated with Polydopamine-Coated Nanocomposites of Nitrile Rubber and Carbon Black

The demand for flexible and wearable electronic devices with excellent stretchability and sensitivity is increasing, especially for human motion detection. In this work, a simple, low-cost and convenient strategy has been employed to fabricate flexible strain sensor with a composite of carbon black and silver nanoparticles as sensing materials and thermoplastic polyurethane as matrix. The strain sensors thus prepared possesses high stretchability and good sensitivity (gauge factor of 21.12 at 100% tensile strain), excellent static (almost constant resistance variation under 50% strain for 600 s) and dynamic (100 cycles) stability. Compared with bare carbon black-based strain sensor, carbon black/silver nanoparticles composite-based strain sensor shows ~18 times improvement in sensitivity at 100% strain. In addition, we discuss the sensing mechanisms using the disconnection mechanism and tunneling effect which results in high sensitivity of the strain sensor. Due to its good strain-sensing performance, the developed strain sensor is promising in detecting various degrees of human motions such as finger bending, wrist rotation and elbow flexion.

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ZnO nanorods/carbon black-based flexible strain sensor for detecting human motions

Journal of Alloys and Compounds ◽

10.1016/j.jallcom.2017.12.094 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 738 ◽

pp. 111-117 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Xueting Chang ◽

Sihua Sun ◽

Shibin Sun ◽

Tao Liu ◽

Xing Xiong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Black ◽

Zno Nanorods ◽

Strain Sensor ◽

Flexible Strain Sensor ◽

Human Motions

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An efficient highly flexible strain sensor: Enhanced electrical conductivity, piezoresistivity and flexibility of a strongly piezoresistive composite based on conductive carbon black and an ionic liquid

Composites Part A Applied Science and Manufacturing ◽

10.1016/j.compositesa.2018.08.004 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 113 ◽

pp. 330-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Jirawat Narongthong ◽

Amit Das ◽

Hai Hong Le ◽

Sven Wießner ◽

Chakrit Sirisinha

Keyword(s):

Electrical Conductivity ◽

Ionic Liquid ◽

Carbon Black ◽

Strain Sensor ◽

Conductive Carbon Black ◽

Flexible Strain Sensor

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A highly adhesive flexible strain sensor based on ultra-violet adhesive filled by graphene and carbon black for wearable monitoring

Composites Science and Technology ◽

10.1016/j.compscitech.2019.107771 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 182 ◽

pp. 107771 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Ping Liu ◽

Jian Liu ◽

Xun Zhu ◽

Chen Wu ◽

Yue Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Black ◽

Strain Sensor ◽

Ultra Violet ◽

Flexible Strain Sensor

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Design of a Sensitive Balloon Sensor for Safe Human–Robot Interaction

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21062163 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 2163

Author(s):

Dongjin Kim ◽

Seungyong Han ◽

Taewi Kim ◽

Changhwan Kim ◽

Doohoe Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Strain Sensor ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Human Robot Interaction ◽

Large Area ◽

Tactile Sensors ◽

Robot Interaction ◽

Mechanical Crack ◽

Flexible Strain Sensor ◽

Contact Sensing

As the safety of a human body is the main priority while interacting with robots, the field of tactile sensors has expanded for acquiring tactile information and ensuring safe human–robot interaction (HRI). Existing lightweight and thin tactile sensors exhibit high performance in detecting their surroundings. However, unexpected collisions caused by malfunctions or sudden external collisions can still cause injuries to rigid robots with thin tactile sensors. In this study, we present a sensitive balloon sensor for contact sensing and alleviating physical collisions over a large area of rigid robots. The balloon sensor is a pressure sensor composed of an inflatable body of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and a highly sensitive and flexible strain sensor laminated onto it. The mechanical crack-based strain sensor with high sensitivity enables the detection of extremely small changes in the strain of the balloon. Adjusting the geometric parameters of the balloon allows for a large and easily customizable sensing area. The weight of the balloon sensor was approximately 2 g. The sensor is employed with a servo motor and detects a finger or a sheet of rolled paper gently touching it, without being damaged.

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Design and fabrication of flexible strain sensor based on ZnO-decorated PVDF via atomic layer deposition

Applied Surface Science ◽

10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.150126 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 150126

Author(s):

Chao Sun ◽

Jie Zhang ◽

Yijun Zhang ◽

Fengwan Zhao ◽

Jun Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atomic Layer Deposition ◽

Strain Sensor ◽

Atomic Layer ◽

Layer Deposition ◽

Flexible Strain Sensor

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Structural Reinforcement Effect of a Flexible Strain Sensor Integrated with Pneumatic Balloon Actuators for Soft Microrobot Fingers

Micromachines ◽

10.3390/mi12040395 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 395

Author(s):

Satoshi Konishi ◽

Fuminari Mori ◽

Ayano Shimizu ◽

Akiya Hirata

Keyword(s):

Liquid Metal ◽

Strain Sensor ◽

Strain Sensors ◽

Original Performance ◽

Sensors And Actuators ◽

Parylene C ◽

Structural Reinforcement ◽

Effective Combination ◽

Metal Strain ◽

Flexible Strain Sensor

Motion capture of a robot and tactile sensing for a robot require sensors. Strain sensors are used to detect bending deformation of the robot finger and to sense the force from an object. It is important to introduce sensors in effective combination with actuators without affecting the original performance of the robot. We are interested in the improvement of flexible strain sensors integrated into soft microrobot fingers using a pneumatic balloon actuator (PBA). A strain sensor using a microchannel filled with liquid metal was developed for soft PBAs by considering the compatibility of sensors and actuators. Inflatable deformation generated by PBAs, however, was found to affect sensor characteristics. This paper presents structural reinforcement of a liquid metal-based sensor to solve this problem. Parylene C film was deposited into a microchannel to reinforce its structure against the inflatable deformation caused by a PBA. Parylene C deposition into a microchannel suppressed the interference of inflatable deformation. The proposed method enables the effective combination of soft PBAs and a flexible liquid metal strain sensor for use in microrobot fingers.

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