A Force-Thermal-Magnetic Trimodal Flexible Sensor for Ultrafine Recognition of Metallic Materials

Humans possess the remarkable ability to perceive the intricate world by integrating multiple senses. However, the challenge of enabling humanoid robots to achieve multimodal sensing and fine recognition of metallic materials persists. In this study, we propose a flexible tactile sensor that mimics the sensory patterns of human skin, which is assembled by a flexible electromagnetic coil that is engraved on the surface of a polyimide substrate and porous MXene/CNT aerogel. This sensor is capable of detecting pressure, temperature, and inductive signals with minimal interference via three disparate response mechanisms of the piezoresistive sensing, the thermoelectric principle, and the electromagnetic induction effect, allowing the device with the abilities of sensing grasp forces and selectively identifying ferromagnetic and nonferromagnetic metals, which has a high accuracy rate of 99.2% in distinguishing mixed metals with varying ratios based on the fusion algorithm of multimodal sensory data. Further, the sensor was integrated on a humanoid robotic hand to demonstrate its recognition capacity of objects used in a kitchen setting and a simulated scenario of mineral exploration, achieving a remarkable ultrafine accuracy of 100% in distinguishing 16 common metal products. These findings will pave the way for humanoid robots to attain heightened levels of perception and recognition.