Shielded stretchable capacitive force sensors with liquid metal channels

Bekir Aksoy, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, Giulio Grasso, Vito Cacucciolo, Herbert Shea

Published: 28 Apr 2023, Last Modified: 28 Oct 2025Proceedings Volume PC12482, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XXVEveryoneRevisionsBibTeXCC BY-SA 4.0
Abstract: We report electrically shielded capacitive stretchable force sensors, that simultaneously measure normal and shear strains, even near electric sparks. The device consists of an outer conductive stretchable shielding layer (carbon-loaded silicone) and a central silicone layer with embedded air channels and three liquid metal electrodes. We report sub-mN force resolution in both normal and shear directions, can measure forces larger than 10 N, and operate reliably after repeated loading to 20 N load. Performance is unaffected by nearby high DC and AC electric fields, allowing use in a wide range of robotic sensing applications.