Current state-of-the-art stretchable/flexible sensors have received stringent demands on sensitivity, flexibility, linearity, and wide-range measurement capability. Herein, we report a methodology of strain sensors based on graphene/Ecoflex composites by modulating multiscale/hierarchical wrinkles on flexible substrates. The sensor shows an ultra-high sensitivity with a gauge factor of 1078.1, a stretchability of 650%, a response time of ~140 ms, and a superior cycling durability. It can detect wide-range physiological signals including vigorous body motions, pulse monitoring and speech recognition, and be used for monitoring of human respirations in real-time using a cloud platform, showing a great potential for the healthcare internet of things. Complex gestures/sign languages can be precisely detected. Human-machine interface is demonstrated by using a sensor-integrated glove to remotely control an external manipulator to remotely defuse a bomb. This study provides strategies for real-time/long-range medical diagnosis and remote assistance to perform dangerous tasks in industry and military fields.
Bionic Retinas
Biomimetic eyes have shown great potential in the fields of visual prostheses and robotics. In article number 2104960, PingAn Hu and co‐workers propose an electron‐injection‐enhanced indium layer to increase MoS2 synaptic device conductivity and reduce the power consumption to 68.9 aJ per spike. Furthermore, they construct a 5 × 5 In/MoS2 synaptic device array into a hemispherical electronic retina, showing the great potential in bionic retinas, robots, and visual prostheses.
Flexible and wearable sensors are highly desired for health monitoring, agriculture, sport, and indoor positioning systems applications. However, the currently developed wireless wearable sensors, which are communicated through radio signals, can only provide limited positioning accuracy and are often ineffective in underwater conditions. In this paper, a wireless platform based on flexible piezoelectric acoustics is developed with multiple functions of sensing, communication, and positioning. Under a high frequency (≈13 MHz) stimulation, Lamb waves are generated for respiratory monitoring. Whereas under low-frequency stimulation (≈20 kHz), this device is agitated as a vibrating membrane, which can be implemented for communication and positioning applications. Indoor communication is demonstrated within 2.8 m at 200 bps or 4.2 m at 25 bps. In combination with the sensing function, real-time respiratory monitoring and wireless communication are achieved simultaneously. The distance measurement is achieved based on the phase differences of transmitted and received acoustic signals within a range of 100 cm, with a maximum error of 3 cm. This study offers new insights into the communication and positioning applications using flexible acoustic wave devices, which are promising for wireless and wearable sensor networks.
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