Intentional Blocking Based Photoelectric Soft Pressure Sensor with High Sensitivity and Stability

Soft pressure sensors have recently attracted considerable attention because of their applications in human-machine interface, soft robotics, and prosthetics. However, there remain some challenges in achieving satisfactory performance (e.g., high sensitivity, wide sensing range, high stability) for soft pressure sensors. This article reports an intentional blocking based photoelectric pressure sensor. Two different blocking methods are investigated: the single-row-pyramid blocking and the double-row-pyramid blocking. The sensor has a simple structure, which is made of a light-emitting diode, photosensitive element, and silicone sensor shell. Experiments demonstrate that the sensor has a high sensitivity (the maximum sensitivity is 48.07 kPa^-1, and the minimum measurement pressure is 0.8 Pa), large pressure-sensing range (the sensing range is up to 120 kPa), superior stability (a drift about 0.4% over 12,130 repetitive cycles at 0-80 kPa), low drift (< ±0.2% in different 3-day testing), negligible hysteresis, and high signal-to-noise ratio (over 55 dB). By mounting the pressure sensor at the end of a robotic arm, the robot can detect subtle collisions (such as touching a balloon through a pinpoint). In addition, this article fabricates a tactile glove based on the proposed pressure sensor and shows the application of this glove for music playing and object weighing. This study provides a new structure for photoelectric sensors to increase sensitivity and also provides a more convenient way to fabricate photoelectric pressure sensors.