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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

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Published on: December 30, 2025
Gel-Based Artificial Photonic Skin to Sense a Gentle Touch by Reflection
Fan Hu1,2, Lin Zhang1, Wenzhe Liu3
1Research Institute for Biomimetics and Soft Matter, College of Materials, College of Physical Science and Technology , Xiamen University , Xiamen 361005 , P. R. China.
Abstract:
This work demonstrates that engineering a three-dimensional photonic crystal (3DPC) structure in a highly flexible gel is a potential method to achieve flexible tactile artificial photonic skin (p-skin) for future visible-light communication (VLC). We investigated the photonic output modes of 3DPC-coated gel-based pressure sensors and explored their ability to sense low pressures (<10 kPa) through reflection. Such sensors with high sensitivity, fast response, and adjustable detection range can be fabricated in arrays of dots covering large, complex/uneven surfaces and are promising in the development of stimuli-responsive soft materials for future artificial intelligence, health monitoring, and photonic communication systems.
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