Soft, flexible 3D printed fibers for capacitive tactile sensing

This study presents our latest efforts towards developing a force sensor array by weaving 3D printed functionalized polymer fibers. Silicone was used as the base polymer and carbon fillers were used to impart electrical conductivity. Two “H”-shaped fiber cross-sections oriented orthogonally acted as a parallel plate capacitor and were used for detecting normal forces. In this article, we present the fabrication method of the unique “H”-shaped fiber cross-section along with the investigation of the relation between applied force and measured capacitance. We also report the sensor response to variation in temperature. The sensing crossover was found to have a stable mechanical and electrical response in the force range of 0–6 N and the performance of this soft sensor was not significantly affected by temperature.