Mantis Leg-Inspired Flexible Capacitive Pressure Sensor With High Sensitivity and Fast Response for Wearable Devices and Human-Machine Interaction

Flexible pressure sensors are essential for advancing electronic skin and developing flexible wearable devices. Developing pressure sensors with high sensitivity and large-scale preparation in a cost-effective manner is currently a key challenge. Inspired by the structure of a mantis’s leg, this study proposes a bionic flexible capacitive pressure sensor (BFCPS) with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) material and a bionic structural design for the dielectric layer. Particularly, highly reliable pressure sensors are efficiently prepared in a controlled manner using 3-D printing technology. Finite element simulation analysis demonstrates that the biomimetic microstructure significantly enhances sensor performance. The BFCPS with optimized structural parameters demonstrates high sensitivity (0.836 kPa $^{-{1}}\text {)}$ , wide range up to 333 kPa, fast response/recovery time (40/50 ms), and excellent durability. The outstanding sensing performance of the developed BFCPS has been successfully applied in wearable devices and human-machine interaction.