A bioinspired flexible optical sensor for force and orientation sensing

Flexible optical sensors have been an emerging paradigm for applications in robotics, healthcare, and human–machine interfaces due to their high sensitivity, fast response, and anti-electromagnetic interference. Recently, Marques reports a bioinspired multifunctional flexible optical sensor (BioMFOS), achieving a forces sensitivity of 13.28 μN, and a spatial resolution of 0.02 mm. The BioMFOS has a small dimension (around 2 cm) and a light weight (0.8 g), making it suitable for wearable application and clothing integration. As proof-of-concept demonstrations, monitoring of finger position, trunk movements, and respiration rate are realized, implying their prominent applications in remote healthcare, intelligent robots, assistance devices teleoperation, and human-machine interfaces.