Sharkskin-Inspired Multisensory Afferent Electronic Skin Capable of Noncontact Materials Recognition and Self-Awareness

By noncontact bioelectricity detection and coherent neural information processing, sharks can spot prey hiding under dark seabed or beneath sea sand. Inspired by shark skin, we demonstrate a multisensory afferent electronic skin, which integrates an electrostatic noncontact sensing PA11/p-DADMAC nanofiber membrane on the outer side for material recognition, a piezoelectric CS-PZ/PM nanofiber membrane on the inner side for self-strain sensing, and a nanowire synaptic transistor for information integration and transformation. All these modules are structurally and functionally integrated to form a monolithic flexible device by an ion gel sheet, which serves as a flexible substrate and ion-conductive bridge. The electronic skin was successfully applied to construct a self-controlled trolley and a noncontact material recognition glove. This research offers an alternative approach and methodology for noncontact sensing technologies and wearable electronics.