Document Type
Article
Abstract
The electroelastomer cylindrical actuators, a typical representation of soft actuators, have recently aroused increasing interest owing to their advantages in flexibility, deformability, and spatial utilization rate. Proprioception is crucial for controlling and monitoring the shape and position of these actuators. However, most existing flexible sensors have a modulus mismatch with the actuation unit, hindering the free movement of these actuators. Herein, a low-modulus strain sensor based on laser-induced cellular graphitic flakes (CGF) onto the surface of hollow TPU fibers (HTF) is present. Through the electrostatic self-assembly technology, the flexible sensor features a unique hybrid sensing unit including soft HTF as substrate and rigid CGF as conductive path. As a result, the sensor simultaneously possesses desirable modulus (~0.155 MPa), a gauge factor of 220.3 (25% < ε < 50%), fast response/recovery behaviors (31/62 ms), and a low detection limit (0.1% strain). Integrating the sensor onto the electroelastomer cylindrical actuators enables precise measurement of deformation modes, directions, and quantity. As proof-of-concept demonstrations, a prototype soft robot with high-precision perception is successfully designed, achieving real-time detection of its deformations during the crawling process. Thus, the proposed scheme sheds new light on the development of intelligent soft robots.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Publication Info
Published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering, Volume 11, Issue 1, 2025, pages 34-.
APA Citation
Zhang, Y., Deng, K., Shen, T., Huang, Y., Xu, Z., Zhang, J., Jin, H., Liu, X., Xu, L., Lu, L., Li, S., Sun, D., & Wu, D. (2025). Hollow fiber-based strain sensors with desirable modulus and sensitivity at effective deformation for dexterous electroelastomer cylindrical actuator. Microsystems & Nanoengineering, 11(1).https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-025-00878-7
Rights
© The Author(s) 2025 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any mediumor format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changesweremade. The images or other third partymaterial in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to thematerial. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.