Recent advances of wearable and flexible piezoresistivity pressure sensor devices and its future prospects

Abstract

The human skin inspired soft electronic devices have attracted broadly research attention in the past decades as the promising potential applications in health monitoring and diagnosis, robotics, and prosthetics. The soft wearable piezoresistivity pressure sensor is one of the most attractive candidates for the development of advanced electronic skin for its simple mechanism, compact structure, low cost and power energy consumption and ease of signal acquisition and transforms advantages. In this review, we will explore the recent progress and achievements in the field of piezoresistivity pressure sensor, focusing on the fundamentals of the piezoresistivity pressure sensor and the materials related to the devices, including active materials, substrate materials, and electrode materials. Subsequently, the challenges and outlook are discussed. We list several current challenges perspectives on the development of pressure sensors. Several critical topics for the optimization of the sensitivity and working range of sensing devices toward practical applications are discussed. Finally, perspectives on the slip and force vectors sensors, the developing technologies for multi-function and high-resolution sensor systems and signals process technologies are examined to highlight the near future development tendency in piezoresistivity pressure sensor research field. Keywords: Wearable device, Flexible electronic, Piezoresistivity sensor, E-Skin, Health monitoring