Wide Linearity Range and Rapid-Response Tactile Sensor Inspired by Parallel Structures.

The synergistic enhancement of both linear range and response speed is crucial for simplifying the signal processing/conversion of tactile sensors and improving real-time perception. However, traditional tactile sensors face challenges in quantitatively controlling force-electrical response and viscoelastic hysteresis, limiting their linear sensing range and response speed. Inspired by parallel structures, Composite Parallel Tactile Sensors (CPTS-W and CPTS-S) is proposed, employing parallel elastomers to regulate deformation precisely. These sensors exhibit a wide sensing range up to 450 kPa, with three linear response regions: 0-50 kPa (sensitivity of 0.0080 kPa¹), 50-98 kPa (sensitivity of 0.0022 kPa¹), and 98-423 kPa (sensitivity of 0.0012 kPa¹), significantly reduce dynamic recovery hysteresis of conductive composites, and enhance rapid response capability (48 ms response time and 39 ms recovery time). With excellent dynamic response characteristics across a wide linear sensing range, the results demonstrate broad applicability in areas such as physiological signal monitoring, complex object shape recognition, and multi-axis torque decoupling perception in robotics.