A paper-based self-inductive folding displacement sensor for human respiration and motion signals measurement

Abstract Flexible sensors have recently attracted much attention for potential applications in motion measurement and wearable health monitoring. In this paper, an environment-friendly, economic, and high-performance paper-based self-inductive folding displacement sensor (PSIFS) was proposed, with displacement resolution of 20 μm and wide measurement range of 43.2 mm. The sensor sensitivity could reach 4.44% mm−1 with the maximum deviation of 0.00904 in experiments. The sensing mechanism based on inductance variation due to three-dimensional deformation of planar inductor coil and structural design principle under two dimensions of sensitivity and size were proposed and studied. The folding method to enhance sensitivity was proposed and 3 times sensitivity enhancement could be achieved by once folding. Multiple breathing states and motion states of the human joints could be recognized. The proposed simple paper-based sensor, folding method to increase sensitivity, and structural design model may provide a way for the research of flexible sensors.