Sensing mechanisms and applications of flexible pressure sensors

As an emerging type of electronic devices, flexible pressure sensors have more advantages than rigid sensors in human-computer interaction, healthcare, and tactile sensing in robots. These advantages, however, require the materials to be thin and soft. For applications in human bodies, the sensor needs to be biocompatible and mechanically match the biotissue such that they can be conformable to the skin textures, or be implanted in the body. Sensitivity, response time, limitation of detection, and stability are basic properties to evaluate a pressure sensor. Recently, some other parameters of flexible pressure sensors including pressure response range, pressure resolution, space resolution, and stretchability have also been studied, enabling such devices to have a wider application prospect. This review introduces about the state of the arts of flexible pressure sensors in recent years, and is intended to discuss the sensing mechanisms, properties, and potential applications of flexible tactile sensors. At last, we talk about the future of flexible tactile sensors.