Wearable Triboelectric Sensors Based on High-Performance Au/TPU Nanofiber Electrodes for Object Recognition, Emotion Recognition, and Wireless Real-Time Robot Control

Abstract

Highly conductive and stretchable nanofibers are promising material candidates for wearable devices. However, traditional electrode materials are limited by their tensile strain, rigid material, and impermeability, which often deteriorates the performance of their flexible wearable sensors. Herein, a wearable triboelectric sensor (WTS) based on a highly conductive, stretchable, and breathable Au/TPU nanofiber electrode is developed for object recognition, emotion recognition, and wireless real-time robot control. After Au nanoparticles are uniformly deposited on the surface of TPU nanofibers through anion-assisted photochemical deposition (APD) method, the prepared Au/TPU nanofiber electrode achieves a tight combination of the high-conductive network and flexible feature, including an excellent conductivity (668.9 S/m), stretchability (500%), and tensile stability. Based on the Au/TPU nanofiber electrode, the fabricated WTS demonstrates high-performance triboelectric effects for high-sensitivity stimulus response. Furthermore, six WTS units adhered to the inner side of a mechanical claw can achieve high-accuracy object recognition (94.7%) with the assistance of machine learning. Similarly, when five WTS units are attached to the human face, different facial expressions can be successfully identified for emotion recognition to further enable wireless real-time robot control for human-machine interaction. Consequently, the fabricated WTS based on Au/TPU nanofiber electrode demonstrates a considerably impressive potential in the fields of wearable electronics and Artificial Intelligence (AI).