Integrating CNT force sensors into a multimodal modular electronic skin

This paper presents the integration of a flexible capacitive force sensor based on carbon nanotube (CNT) thin-film with a multi-modal artificial skin cell, which is built on a hexagonal shaped, rigid, printed circuit board (PCB). In this work, the previously utilized copper beryllium (CuBe2) based force sensors in the cell are replaced with CNT-based sensors, as CNT is an interesting material for realizing mechanically flexible electronic devices. The possibility to fabricate CNT thin-films from solution by scalable coating and printing techniques has paved the way for large-area and low-cost sensor applications like artificial skin. Here, we provide detailed experimental characterization of the integrated sensors.