Flexible Mechanical Sensors with Time-Dependent, Viscoelastic Responses

With increasingly large sensor arrays, the amount of data produced can become impractical for a central computer to process in real time. We propose a compliant, 3D printed mechanical sensor that leverages material and structural properties to augment its sensing capabilities, allowing for filtering, signal amplification, and time-dependency to be directly incorporated into the sensor. With the use of pseudo-bistability, these sensors mechanically reset themselves. Viscoelastic material properties reveal information about the time elapsed since an external force was applied. These mechanosensors are promising for large-area sensing applications in which their inherent properties can complement conventional electronic systems.