Flexible Electronic Skin Sensors: Review

Traditional rigid electronics face critical challenges of non-conformability to multiple shapes. Flexible and stretchable electronics offer unique solutions to such critical challenges by allowing conformability to various shapes. Electronic skin (E-skin) sensors have emerged from the field of flexible electronics to mimic human skin’s functional properties. By mimicking such properties, e-skin sensors have potential applications in several fields ranging from healthcare to robotics. This paper provides a comprehensive review of advancements in e-skin sensor technologies, highlighting sensing mechanisms used to convert external stimuli to electric signals, various sensor structures for effectively elevating sensing capabilities, and the materials utilized to achieve flexible and stretchable e-skins. We also discuss the potential application areas of e-skin sensor technologies and the challenges affecting e-skin sensor technologies. Achieving multi-functional e-skin sensors capable of simultaneously detecting various stimuli while maintaining mechanical properties like the human skin presents unique opportunities for future innovations in diverse fields.