A bioinspired flexible artificial mechanoreceptor based on VO2 insulator-metal transition memristor

Inspired by biological mechanoreceptors, we present a flexible artificial mechanoreceptor (FAM) based on high-performance VO2 insulator-metal transition (IMT) memristor with the functions of sensing, spikes coding and information fusion for the anthropomorphic neurorobotics. The flexible VO2 IMT memristors with the structure of Ti/Pt/VO2/Pt via-hole show bi-directional threshold switching performance, good endurance (>2 ×109) and excellent flexibility (>103 bending cycles). The FAM comprised of three receptors (flexible pressure sensors) and one flexible VO2 IMT memristor is able to detect, code and fuse the pressure information from different receptors into spike trains similar to the biological SA-Ⅰ mechanoreceptors, laying the foundation for the flexible electronic skin of anthropomorphic neurorobotics in the future.