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Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Fabrication and Characterization of a Conformal Skin-like Electronic System for Quantitative, Cutaneous Wound Management
Published on: September 2, 2015
Sharkskin-Inspired Multisensory Afferent Electronic Skin Capable of Noncontact Materials Recognition and
Song Zhang1,2, Honghuan Xu1,2, Wenbo Wang1,2
1Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Key Laboratory of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology of Tianjin, College of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Engineering Research Center of Thin Film Photoelectronic Technology of Ministry of Education, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
Abstract:
By noncontact bioelectricity detection and coherent neural information processing, sharks can spot prey hiding under dark seabed or beneath sea sand. Inspired by shark skin, we demonstrate a multisensory afferent electronic skin, which integrates an electrostatic noncontact sensing PA11/p-DADMAC nanofiber membrane on the outer side for material recognition, a piezoelectric CS-PZ/PM nanofiber membrane on the inner side for self-strain sensing, and a nanowire synaptic transistor for information integration and transformation. All these modules are structurally and functionally integrated to form a monolithic flexible device by an ion gel sheet, which serves as a flexible substrate and ion-conductive bridge. The electronic skin was successfully applied to construct a self-controlled trolley and a noncontact material recognition glove. This research offers an alternative approach and methodology for noncontact sensing technologies and wearable electronics.
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