A high-sensitivity flexible electric skin using a liquid-core PVDF fiber

Abstract

An electronic skin (ES) is developed by embedding a liquid-core poly(vinylidene fluoride) fiber into a silicone rubber. The experimental results show that the ES can detect the waveform, frequency, amplitude, and other parameters of the surface vibration pressure. The ES can sense the surface pressure amplitude over a range of 1.5–2.5 kPa and exhibits a sensitivity of 0.0472 fC/Pa when the pressure is less than 60 Pa. The resonant frequency of the ES is 0.4 Hz. The ES can also detect the elongation strain, and its sensitivity is 0.0058 fC/με. The ES has the characteristics of flexibility, high sensitivity, and a wide measuring range. Therefore, the ES can be used as a robot finger skin, which enables the robot to have touch perception capabilities.