Inspiration of plant-related adhesion for plant wearable sensor interface design

Abstract

Wearable flexible devices for plant health monitoring hold promising prospects for encompassing the deep informatization and intellectualization of traditional agriculture and paving new research directions in plant physiology within botany. The high-quality collection or release of in situ signals constitutes a significant advantage of plant wearable devices, benefiting from the interface between devices and plants with excellent adaptability and conformability. However, naturally growing plant surfaces often possess anti-adhesive structures, such as waxy layers and microhairs. Therefore, interface adhesion between the devices and plants is crucial. In nature, the surface of plants is commonly observed to be adhered to by other organisms, and the adhesive strategies underlying these interactions offer promising potential to inspire the design of future wearable devices. In this review, we begin with the intriguing phenomenon of many plant surfaces in nature being attached or adhered to by other organisms, employing biomimetic thinking to summarize and extract various biomimetic adhesion mechanisms. Furthermore, by combining the designs of adhesive layers involved in plant devices reported in recent literature, we further analyze and summarize the interfacial adhesion between plants and devices, aiming to provide readers with diverse strategies. Finally, we conclude and provide an outlook on the new demands and future development directions of interface adhesion between plants and wearable devices.