Technology Roadmap for Flexible Sensors

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Engineering
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Flexible sensors are crucial for ubiquitous sensing in the digital age, addressing grand challenges.
• Despite research progress, market adoption of flexible sensors lags behind their potential.
• Conventional rigid sensors have limitations that flexible alternatives aim to overcome.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify critical bottlenecks hindering the maturation and market adoption of flexible sensors.
• To propose actionable solutions and a comprehensive roadmap for accelerating flexible sensor deployment.
• To foster coordinated development strategies across diverse research communities.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of challenges in sensing performance for real-world applications.
• Review of issues related to sensor-biology interfaces.
• Discussion of power, connectivity, commercialization, and non-technical factors.

Main Results:

• Identified limitations in sensing performance, sensor-biology integration, and network infrastructure.
• Highlighted environmental, business, regulatory, and ethical considerations as non-technical barriers.
• Outlined future directions for intelligent flexible sensors.

Conclusions:

• Addressing identified bottlenecks is essential for the successful commercialization and sustainable growth of flexible sensor technology.
• A collaborative, roadmap-driven approach can expedite scientific breakthroughs and societal benefits.
• Overcoming technical and non-technical hurdles will enable wider deployment of advanced flexible sensors.