3D Printed Stretchable Tactile Sensors with Electronic Ink
Electronic Ink with Tunable Printability and Electrical ConductivityA flexible tactile sensor, 3D printed with electronic inks, can detect and differentiate human movements (e.g., radial pulse and finger pressing/bending). The stretchable sensor consists of a conductive coil placed between two stretchable electrode layers. A custom, multi-functional 3D printing process prints silver-impregnated silicone inks with tunable printability and electrical conductivity to fabricate and cure the sensor under ambient conditions. The degree of silver loading in the silicone inks is controllable and can be used to vary sensor behavior.3D Printable Tactile SensorCommon methods to measure tactile stimuli include capacitive and piezoresistive mechanisms. Capacitive sensors exhibit excellent sensitivity, linearity, and temperature invariance, but electromagnetic interference can affect their performance. New methods to fabricate piezoresistive sensors into artificial skins directly onto conformal, geometrically complex structures could expand their impact. This new method fabricates stretchable tactile sensors 3D printed via a combination of nanocomposite ink optimization, 3D scanning, and multi-material 3D printing. The sensors show high performance/sensitivity useful for any application requiring pressure/tactile sensors and arrays.BENEFITS AND FEATURES:Detects and differentiates human movements (e.g., radial pulse and finger pressing/bending)Fabrication under mild/ambient conditionsSimple, custom 3D printing processCan be applied directly to skin or sensitive componentsFlexible, stretchable, sensitiveAdjustable stretchability and electrical conductivityStructural integrity withstands drying without delamination or distortionPrinted on flexible substratePrinting onto arbitrary surfacesPrintable into large-scale arraysMulti-functional, multi-material 3D printing (scan and print) processTunable printabilityRange of electrical conductivity and piezoresistive response3D printed using commercially available silicone, silver particles and additivesCured elastomeric inks mimic high flexibility and stretchability of human skinCompatible with biological substrates or materials (e.g., strain sensors capable of detecting human movement)APPLICATIONS:Wearable/flexible electronics for monitoring heart rate and/or blood pressureTactile sensors3D printing, integration with other 3D printable devicesWearable electronics and devicesProsthetics, prosthetic bionic skins, robotics, prosthetic skinsProviding surgical tools with the sense of touchHaptic feedbackApplications using durable, flexible, elastic sensorsEnergy harvesting devicesSoft roboticsSoft mechanicsBiomechanical energy harvestingBiotic-abiotic interfacesHaptic feedbackProviding surgical tools touch feedbackPhase of DevelopmentSensorsPrototype: device has been fabricated and characterized.InksWorking prototype: ink formulated and used to make device (sensor).
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