Search

The sensations of touch and pain are fundamental components of our daily life, which can transport vital information about the surroundings and provide protection to our bodies. In this study, the transmission process of sensing pressure stimuli to dorsal root neurons (nociceptors) was simulated using electronic devices. In this regard, we proposed and experimentally demonstrated a biomimetic nociceptor system with tactile perception. In this system, the sensing paper as E-skin simulates the biological skin to sense external pressure stimulation and generate electrical signals, while the threshold switching memristor simulates the biological nociceptor to receive and process the receptor signals. The W/VO2/Pt memristor exhibits all key features of nociceptors including threshold, relaxation, "no adaptation" and sensitization phenomena of allodynia and hyperalgesia. The E-skin shows high sensitivity and a broad sensing range and is capable of monitoring different human movements and physiological signals. With the bio-inspired artificial tactile nociceptive system, the threshold and sensitization properties under pressure stimuli are obtained successfully. Notably, this system could be used as an artificial tactile alarm system to demonstrate the potential applicability of humanoid robots. Thus, the present work is of great significance to the development of hardware architecture in artificial intelligence systems and replacement neuroprosthetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iontronic sensing has experienced a rapid growth in recent years due to its ultrahigh device sensitivity, high resolution, and high spatial definition. However, most of the reported sensors usually exhibit a highly nonlinear response for the dramatic drop of sensitivity as pressure increasing. Here, a sensitive, piecewise linear flexible iontronic pressure sensor is reported. Inspired by the relationship between microstructure of fly mechanoreceptors and their associated stimuli, hill‐ridge architecture (HRA)‐based sensors with piecewise high sensitivity and linearity are designed and successfully prepared by using a simple and adjustable PDMS prestretched template. The developed sensor demonstrates a high sensitivity of 37.7 kPa–1 in the low‐pressure range (0–4 kPa) and 4.69 kPa–1 in higher load force (100–350 kPa). It is worth emphasizing that the response in both loading ranges is linear. Besides, the sensor exhibits a short dynamic response time of 23 ms together with extremely low LOD of 0.32 Pa and remarkable mechanical stability (>5000 cycles). Finally, the applications of the sensor for artery pulse detection, handwriting identification, and spatial discrimination are demonstrated. Benefiting from the unique properties, the proposed sensor can be advantageous for the potential applications in fields of motion detection, healthcare monitoring, and human‐machine interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sensations of touch and pain are fundamental components of our daily life, which can transport vital information about the surroundings and provide protection to our bodies. In this study, the transmission process of sensing pressure stimuli to dorsal root neurons (nociceptors) was simulated using electronic devices. In this regard, we proposed and experimentally demonstrated a biomimetic nociceptor system with tactile perception. In this system, the sensing paper as E-skin simulates the biological skin to sense external pressure stimulation and generate electrical signals, while the threshold switching memristor simulates the biological nociceptor to receive and process the receptor signals. The W/VO 2 /Pt memristor exhibits all key features of nociceptors including threshold, relaxation, "no adaptation" and sensitization phenomena of allodynia and hyperalgesia. The E-skin shows high sensitivity and a broad sensing range and is capable of monitoring different human movements and physiological signals. With the bio-inspired artificial tactile nociceptive system, the threshold and sensitization properties under pressure stimuli are obtained successfully. Notably, this system could be used as an artificial tactile alarm system to demonstrate the potential applicability of humanoid robots. Thus, the present work is of great significance to the development of hardware architecture in artificial intelligence systems and replacement neuroprosthetics.