Highly sensitive flexible tactile sensors based on microstructured multiwall carbon nanotube arrays

This work presents a highly sensitive flexible tactile sensor based on microstructured multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) arrays with patterned cross-contacted electrodes. The anisotropic microstructures not only empower the sensor with an ultra-high sensitivity of − 9.95 kPa− 1 at low pressure level below 100 Pa, about 100 times higher than that of an unstructured sensor, but also lead to great stability and a fast response time (< 200 ms). The results show that the tactile sensor based on microstructured MWCNT arrays with engineered electrodes is promising for potential future applications in robotics, prosthesis, and a variety of human-machine interface implementations.