A Multicellular Structured Ionic Hybrid Pump for Ultrasensitive Mechanotransducer Skin

Recently, many developments have focused on biomimetics for application in electronic skin, health monitoring devices, and smart prosthetics. However, close mimicry of human skin’s tactile sensing capability over wide pressure range is unexplored. Here, we present ultralow-powered, ultrasensitive, visco-poroelastic mechanotransducer skin sensors based on a multicellular structured ionic hybrid pump composed of ionic liquids, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomer, and silica particles as a tactile sensing matrix. Local confinement of ion pairs onto the surface of silica dispersed in the TPU closely emulates the structural and functional features of living cell. Structure-derived confinement of ions in the silica without pressure and subsequent mechanical stimulus driven squeezing-out of ions generated an electric double layer (EDL), which allowed high sensitivity over 40 kPa-1 over a wide spectrum of pressure (0-100 kPa). Finally, we open a new avenue towards other parctical applications decribing a patch-type drone microcontroller capable of controlling drone’s height, speed, and revolution speed.