Carbon-based Wearable Pressure Sensor System for Real-time Step Frequency Monitoring

Abstract Wearable pressure sensors have attracted great attention in human motion and health monitoring due to their sensitivity, flexibility and portability that can provide continuous physiological information recording. However, current pressure sensors used for wearable motion monitoring suffer from low sensitivity, poor resistance to interference, and the inability to be mass-produced. In this study, we proposed the utilization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) as sensing materials, fabric as substrates, and screen printing process for fabricating flexible pressure sensors. The fabricated sensors exhibited a high sensitivity at low pressure, and good stability of more than 3000 cycles. Moreover, we designed a wearable step frequency monitoring system for real-time recording of footstep frequency during human walking activities. The results demonstrated that the system accurately monitors frequency under different walking speeds and footstep activities during various movements, providing a promising strategy to develop wearable and wireless sensing system for real-time motion monitoring.