Strain-Tolerant Tactile Fabrics Enabled by Liquid Metal Core–Sheath Yarns for High-Fidelity Electronic Skins

Abstract

Piezoresistive tactile fabrics for wearable electronics are fundamentally limited by the conflicting needs for high-pressure sensitivity and stable signal transmission, as conventional yarns can suffer from severe inter-pixel crosstalk and strain-induced signal drift. To address this, we present a strain-tolerant tactile fabric using a core–sheath yarn architecture that spatially decouples sensing and conduction. The core, fabricated from silver nanoparticle-decorated styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) yarns and eutectic gallium–indium (EGaIn), provides high electromechanical stability at large strains for robust signal transmission. Simultaneously, a carbon nanotube/polyurethane sheath ensures high piezoresistive sensitivity for precise pressure detection. Weaving these yarns into an 8 × 8 array effectively suppresses tensile and pressure-induced crosstalk (< 5% error) under 20% strain or concurrent multi-point pressing (up to 665 kPa). Integrated into a smart glove with deep learning, the system demonstrates a 99.2% accuracy in recognizing object shapes, representing a dramatic enhancement over the 32.2% accuracy of counterparts composed of homogeneous piezoresistive yarns without core–sheath architecture. This scalable strategy overcomes intrinsic trade-offs in stretchable sensing, advancing high-fidelity electronic skins for human–machine interaction, robotics, and telemedicine.

Keywords

Piezoresistive tactile fabrics / Piezoresistive yarns / Liquid metals / Core–sheath architecture / Object recognition

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China(62375246)

National Key Research and Development Program of China(2024YFC3607300)

Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province(LQ24F010008)

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Donghua University, Shanghai, China