High-Performance\nStretchable Strain Sensors Based\non Auxetic Fabrics for Human Motion Detection

Wearable\nstrain sensors play a pivotal role in real-time\nhuman\nmotion detection and health monitoring. Traditional fabric-based strain\nsensors, typically with a positive Poisson’s ratio, face challenges\nin maintaining sensitivity and comfort during human motion due to\nconflicting resistance changes in different strain directions. In\nthis work, high-performance stretchable strain sensors are developed\nbased on graphene-modified auxetic fabrics (GMAF) for human motion\ndetection in smart wearable devices. The proposed GMAF sensors, with\na negative Poisson’s ratio achieved through commercially available\nwarp-knitting technology, exhibit an 8-fold improvement in sensitivity\ncompared to conventional plain fabric sensors. The unique auxetic\nfabric structure enhances sensitivity by synchronizing resistance\nchanges in both wale and course directions. The GMAF sensors demonstrate\nexcellent washability, showing only slight degradation in auxeticity\nand an acceptable increase in resistance after 10 standard wash cycles.\nThe GMAF sensors maintain stability under different strain levels\nand various motion frequencies, emphasizing their dynamic performance.\nThe sensors exhibit superior conformability to joint movements, which\neffectively monitor a full range of motions, including joint bending,\nsports activities, and subtle actions like coughing and swallowing.\nThe research underscores a promising approach to achieve industrial-scale\nproduction of wearable sensors with improved performance and comfort\nthrough fabric structure design.