Recent advances in multimodal sensing integration and decoupling strategies for tactile perception

Abstract Human skin perceives external environmental stimulus by the synergies between the subcutaneous tactile corpuscles. Soft electronics with multiple sensing capabilities by mimicking the function of human skin are of significance in health monitoring and artificial sensation. The last decade has witnessed unprecedented development and convergence between multimodal tactile sensing devices and soft bioelectronics. Despite these advances, traditional flexible electronics achieve multimodal tactile sensing for pressure, strain, temperature, and humidity by integrating monomodal sensing devices together. This strategy results in high energy consumption, limited integration, and complex manufacturing process. Various multimodal sensors and crosstalk-free sensing mechanisms have been proposed to bridge the gap between natural sensory system and artificial perceptual system. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of tactile sensing mechanism, integration design principles, signal-decoupling strategies, and current applications for multimodal tactile perception. Finally, we highlight the current challenges and present the future perspectives to promote the development of multimodal tactile perception.