Morphological-engineering-based capacitive tactile sensors

Abstract

Capacitive tactile sensors have garnered significant attention due to their simple structure, temperature independence, and wide applicability. However, with the continuous evolution of the intellectualization process, developing tactile sensors that can compare or even surpass the sensing ability of human skin remains a significant challenge. Consequently, various strategies aimed at enhancing sensing performance have emerged, with the introduction of morphological structures into the active layer being the most effective. In light of this, capacitive tactile sensors based on morphological structure designs have gained favor among researchers, gradually forming a “hundred schools of thought contend” trend. Nevertheless, the processes and applicability of morphological structures have yet to form a complete system, and the development and intelligence of morphological-engineering-based capacitive tactile sensors have reached a bottleneck stage, requiring a comprehensive and systematic review to provide inspiration for breakthroughs. This review delves deeply into the impact of various morphological structure designs on device performance and provides a comprehensive overview of the applicability, advantages, and disadvantages of morphological structure fabrication technologies derived from these structures. Finally, their progress in advanced intelligent systems is summarized, and the challenges and prospects faced in this emerging field are envisioned.