Elastomeric Electronic Skin for Prosthetic Tactile Sensation

This report demonstrates a wearable elastomer-based electronic skin including resistive sensors for monitoring finger articulation and capacitive tactile pressure sensors that register distributed pressure along the entire length of the finger. Pressure sensitivity in the order of 0.001 to 0.01 kPa(-1) for pressures from 5 to 405 kPa, which includes much of the range of human physiological sensing, is achieved by implementing soft, compressible silicone foam as the dielectric and stretchable thin-metal films. Integrating these sensors in a textile glove allows the decoupling of the strain and pressure cross-sensitivity of the tactile sensors, enabling precise grasp analysis. The sensorized glove is implemented in a human-in-the-loop system for controlling the grasp of objects, a critical step toward hand prosthesis with integrated sensing capabilities.