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Fully Elastic and Metal‐Free Tactile Sensors for Detecting both Normal and Tangential Forces Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerators
Author(s) -
Ren Zewei,
Nie Jinhui,
Shao Jiajia,
Lai Qingsong,
Wang Longfei,
Chen Jian,
Chen Xiangyu,
Wang Zhong Lin
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201802989
Subject(s) - triboelectric effect , nanogenerator , tactile sensor , materials science , normal force , electrode , sensitivity (control systems) , acoustics , ranging , robotics , piezoelectricity , nanotechnology , mechanical engineering , composite material , computer science , artificial intelligence , robot , mechanics , electronic engineering , physics , engineering , telecommunications , quantum mechanics
A tactile sensor should be able to detect both normal and tangential forces, which is mandatory for simulating human hands, but this fundamental function has been overlooked by most of the previous studies. Here, based on a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with single‐electrode mode, the fully elastic and metal‐free tactile sensor that can detect both normal and tangential forces is proposed. With tiny burr arrays on the contact interface to facilitate the elastic deformation, the detected normal pressure by the device can reach to 1.5 MPa with a sensitivity of about 51.43 kPa V −1 , and a large range of tangential forces can be detected ranging from 0.5 to 40 N with rough sensitivity of 0.83 N V −1 (0.5–3 N) and 2.50 N V −1 (3–40 N). Meanwhile, the applied tangential forces from different directions can also be clearly distinguished by the four‐partitioned electrode structure. Moreover, a shield film is coated on the top surface of the device, which can screen the electrostatic interference and enhance the repeatability of the device. The demonstrated concept of this self‐powered tactile sensor has excellent applicability for industrial robotics, human–machine interactions, artificial intelligence, etc.