Textile-based wearable sensors using metal-nanowire embedded conductive fibers

We demonstrate textile-based strain and pressure sensors using metal-nanowire embedded conductive fibers. The conductive fibers were fabricated by coating glycerol-doped poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (G-PEDOT:PSS) and silver nanowires (Ag NWs) on nylon fibers. By using a commercially available sewing machine, textile-based strain and pressure sensors were fabricated on fabrics. The textile-based strain sensor showed high sensitivity (maximum gauge factor of ~4) and reliability under applied mechanical strain of 5%, and also the pressure sensor showed reasonable pressure-responses to different levels of loading pressure.