Silk Flocked Flexible\nSensor Capable of Wide-Range\nand Sensitive Pressure Perception

In recent years, there have been advancements in high-performance\nsoft sensors with simultaneous moderate sensitivity and wide linearity.\nHowever, it remains challenging to combine high-efficiency production\nand high performance for soft sensors. The skin and hair structure\nprovide an elegantly simple sensing model, where hair acts as signal\nreceptors and basal skin acts as signal processors. Herein, we used\nefficient electrostatic flocking and extrusion printing to engineer\ncomb-shaped electrodes with conductive polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)\nflocked with conductive silk fibers as a biomimetic flexible sensor.\nThe mechanical and electrical properties of modified PDMS and silk\nfibers were characterized to optimize the functionalization process.\nThe sensor unit exhibited a high linear range up to 2,000 kPa and\na competitively good sensitivity of 0.0285 kPa<sup>–1</sup> in the contact mode with conductive materials, as well as good resolution\nin the noncontact mode. Such sensors and a sensor array demonstrated\npotential applications for detecting pressure disturbances from acoustic\nactivity and for human–robot interactions. We anticipate that\nthe straightforward design and facile fabrication of soft sensors\nwith vertical fibrous morphology for perception will open new avenues\nfor the next generation of high-performance soft sensors integrated\nwith artificial intelligence.