Bioinspired Tactile Sensation Based on Synergistic Microcrack-Bristle Structure Design toward High Mechanical Sensitivity and Direction-Resolving Capability

Yiqun Zhang; Qi Liu; Wenjuan Ren; Yangyang Song; Hua Luo; Yangyang Han; Liang He; Xiaodong Wu; Zhuqing Wang

doi:10.34133/research.0172

Bioinspired Tactile Sensation Based on Synergistic Microcrack-Bristle Structure Design toward High Mechanical Sensitivity and Direction-Resolving Capability

Research (Wash D C). 2023 Jun 16:6:0172. doi: 10.34133/research.0172. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yiqun Zhang^{1

2}, Qi Liu^{1

2}, Wenjuan Ren¹, Yangyang Song^{1

2}, Hua Luo¹, Yangyang Han³, Liang He¹, Xiaodong Wu¹, Zhuqing Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
² Med+X Center for Manufacturing, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.

Abstract

Natural tactile sensation is complex, which involves not only contact force intensity detection but also the perception of the force direction, the surface texture, and other mechanical parameters. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the developed tactile sensors can only detect the normal force, but usually cannot resolve shear force or even distinguish the directions of the force. Here, we present a new paradigm of bioinspired tactile sensors for resolving both the intensity and the directions of mechanical stimulations via synergistic microcrack-bristle structure design and cross-shaped configuration engineering. The microcrack sensing structure gives high mechanical sensitivity to the tactile sensors, and the synergistic bristle structure further amplifies the sensitivity of the sensors. The cross-shaped configuration engineering of the synergistic microcrack-bristle structure further endows the tactile sensors with good capability to detect and distinguish the directions of the applied mechanical forces. The as-fabricated tactile sensors exhibit a high sensitivity (25.76 N^-1), low detection limit (5.4 mN), desirable stability (over 2,500 cycles), and good capability to resolve both mechanical intensity and directional features. As promising application scenarios, surface texture recognition and biomimetic path explorations are successfully demonstrated with these tactile sensors. This newly proposed tactile sensation strategy and technology have great potential applications in ingenious tactile sensation and construction of various robotic and bionic prostheses with high operational dexterity.