Ag nanowire-based transparent stretchable tactile sensor recognizing strain directions and pressure

In the last decade, extensive studies have been conducted to realize the functions of human skin based on stretchable electronics. An artificial skin, recognizing complex mechanical stimulation including pressure, strain and shear, and composed of transparent material, is an essential goal but has hardly been achieved. We fabricated a transparent integrated sensor system that can sense the strain direction and normal pressure of applied mechanical stimulation. Each sensor is composed of micropatterned Ag nanowire, forming a composite stretchable conductor with a block copolymer elastomer. The micropatterning and transfer process using thermoplastic elastomer facilitates the transparent conductor to show high transmittance with low sheet resistance at the same time. The designed transparent strain sensor responds linearly to strain, but does not respond to the orthogonal direction, which enables it to have strain-directionality. The applied mechanical signal, comprising normal force and directional strain, can be interpreted through the electrical signal observed from integrated sensors.