A Self-Healing Magnetoelectric Sensor with Pain Sensing for Underwater Soft Electronics

Replicating the skin's ability to sense touch, feel pain, and heal itself is key to developing the next generation of durable soft electronics. These capabilities become more critical in underwater environments, where divers and underwater machines face severe challenges such as limited dexterity, device damage, and restricted power availability. Here, we develop a self-healing magnetoelectric sensory system (SMES) that uniquely integrates self-powered tactile and proximity sensing with damage detection and autonomous recovery for amphibious operation. The SMES features a multilayer architecture composed of a damage-sensing layer and an underlying magnetoelectric sensing layer, both utilizing a self-healing elastomer with patterned liquid-metal conductors. The design enables the system to detect and recover from pricking, puncturing, and cutting damage while maintaining stable functionality. The SMES exhibits good sensitivity, rapid response, and robust durability in both air and water. Demonstrations with a smart diving glove and a soft robotic hand highlight its potential for noncontact communication and mechanoreception with damage feedback, paving the way toward next-generation amphibious soft machines that can feel and heal like living skin.