Buckling-inspired triboelectric sensor for multifunctional sensing of soft robotics and wearable devices

Amidst the rapid development of intelligent robotics and wearable health monitoring devices, there is an urgent demand for flexible sensor with high sensitivity and precise feedback. In this paper, a multifunctional triboelectric sensor inspired by the phenomenon of buckling is introduced, which integrates kirigami structures with triboelectric nanogenerator principles to accurately detect one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) deformations. The sensor employs a contact-separating structure, with its friction layers consisting of 2D laser-cut kirigami electrodes, which deform into three-dimensional (3D) structures through tensile or compressive buckling. The tensile buckling sensor (BS) developed is capable of sensing the bending angle of soft grippers, allowing the detection of the size of grasped objects with a high recognition rate of 93.75 %. Additionally, in its 1D compressive buckling form, the sensor can be used to recognize various human motion patterns effectively, while the 2D compressive version can be used to measure the expansion of curved surfaces with a sensitivity of 1.3307 V/mm. By combining the unique properties of buckling structures, the innovative triboelectric multifunctional sensor proposed offers a new solution for high-precision motion feedback control with potential application in soft robotics and health monitoring.