Using an EeonTex Conductive Stretchable Elastic Fibre for Hand Action Recognition

Abstract

Tactile sensors in wearable devices have gained attention for their potential applications in enhancing amenability, generation, and functionality for the human body, including sensing and control. This study elaborates on the design of a tactile sensor consisting of EeonTex conductive stretchable elastic fibre, which possesses a bi-directionally stretchable elastic fibre, and was formulated by coating nylon/spandex with a long-lasting conductive formulation. This fabric has proven to be beneficial for use in various different e-tactile applications. The authors systematically investigated the performance of the tactile sensor via 2 different manipulative gestures on a part of the upper limb of two different subjects. The tactile sensor was observed to change its electrical resistance when mechanical force was applied to its surface. It was also noted to be lightweight, inexpensive, stretchable, flexible, and easy to design and set up. This type of tactile sensor possesses the ability to recognise the intention of muscle movement and measure the muscle activities from the forearm. The prime objective of this study was to use such sensors as sleeves mounted on the forearms of the upper limbs. The reasoning behind this was that when muscle contract, they change their shape which in turn results in mechanical pressure being applied to the sensor. Experimental results showed that the tactile sensor’s feedback successfully detected open/closed hands when the sensor sleeve was worn on the forearm region.