Electronic Skin with Embedded Carbon Nanotubes Proximity Sensors

We present an electronic skin with proximity sensing capabilities. Through a simple and cheap fabrication process, we integrate carbon nanotube forests, which serve as the sensing element, into soft, flexible, and transparent artificial skin. Numerical simulations demonstrate the operational principle of the electronic skin proximity sensors. Experimental characterization reveals excellent repeatability and performance of the electronic skin proximity sensors, which are unaffected by the applied strain. Mounting the electronic skin on experimenter's finger further demonstrates its high performance, variability, and potential to interface with humans. Thus, the cheap and simple fabrication process of this electronic skin, together with its straightforward operation, high reliability, and excellent performance under large deformations and different working conditions, set the stage for the development of a new generation of high-end flexible sensory electronic skin, which is attractive in a wide range of engineering fields, such as autonomous soft robotics, biomedicine, and the Internet of Things.