A Bioinspired Flexible Pressure Sensor with Rigid-Flexible Coupling Featuring Simple Fabrication, Wide Pressure...

Flexible pressure sensors with porous structures are essential for wearable electronics and robotic perception. However, traditional porous flexible sensors suffer from poor stability and long recovery times. To address these challenges, a strategy integrating bionic architectures inspired by the rigid-flexible coupling structure of Bambusa textilis and the micro-protrusion structure of Salvia plebeia R.Br. is proposed. An aluminum sheet serves as the support layer, and the sensing layer is prepared through mold replication, material impregnation, and layer-by-layer assembly, offering a simple and scalable fabrication route. The sensor exhibits a broad effective pressure range of 0-31.5 kPa, with a minimum resolvable force of 0.2 N, and within its operating range (0-23.5 kPa), the relationship between resistance and pressure exhibits a trend that can be fitted to a quadratic term, with a coefficient of determination of 0.9986. It achieves a minimum response time of 350 ms and maintains stable signals under dynamic loading at different frequencies, indicating reliable detection of low-frequency weak pressures. After 5000 loading-unloading cycles, the device shows no obvious performance degradation. When mounted on a robotic foot, the sensor successfully distinguishes land, sponge, sand, and pebbles surfaces, demonstrating its potential for intelligent environmental perception.