A demonstration on
the application of wearable liquid-based microfluidic tactile sensor
on a glove. Photo:
Daryl Kang
(September 23, 2015) A
team of scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of
Engineering has developed a wearable liquid-based microfluidic tactile sensor
that is small, thin, highly flexible and durable. Simple and cost-effective to
produce, this novel device is very suitable for applications such as soft
robotics, wearable consumer electronics, smart medical prosthetic devices, as
well as real-time healthcare monitoring.
Tactile sensors are data acquisition devices that detect and
measure a diversity of properties arising from physical interaction and
translate the information acquired to be analysed by an interconnected
intelligent system. Conventional tactile sensors that are available today are
typically rigid and in solid-state form, restricting various natural body
movements when used and may also be subjected to plastic deformation and
failure when pressure is exerted, resulting in compromises in conformability,
durability and overall robustness.
Addressing the limitations of existing tactile sensors, a
team of researchers led by Professor Lim Chwee Teck from NUS’ Department of
Biomedical Engineering achieves a significant technological breakthrough by
adopting a liquid-based pressure sensing method in the design of such sensors.
Novel liquid-based pressure sensing element
The newly developed microfluidic tactile sensor is
fabricated on a flexible substrate like silicone rubber, and uses
non-corrosive, non-toxic 2D nanomaterial suspension in liquid form, such as
graphene oxide, as the pressure sensing element to recognise force-induced
changes.