Flexible Tactile Sensors: Materials, Mechanisms, Structures, and Multifaceted Applications

Abstract

While conventional rigid tactile sensors face limitations in flexibility, biocompatibility, and complex surface integration, hindering robotics, healthcare, and wearables, advances in flexible materials and electronics enable revolutionary "Soft Touch" sensors. This review synthesizes recent breakthroughs in flexible tactile sensing, including novel materials, sensing mechanisms, sensor structures, integrated signal processing and Frontier applications. Innovatively, this study establishes a comprehensive cross-disciplinary roadmap for flexible tactile sensing, spanning fundamental design to system integration, and pioneering deep analysis of synergistic breakthroughs across intelligent robotics, precise medical diagnostics, and comfortable wearable monitoring, particularly highlighting the key role of bioinspired structures and AI fusion. Addressing challenges in biocompatibility, scalable manufacturing, and multimodal fusion will accelerate its revolutionary impact in surgical robotics, telemedicine, smart prosthetics, and personalized health management, driving a paradigm shift in human-machine-environment interaction with profound academic and societal significance. Finally, critical challenges and promising research directions for next-generation tactile sensors are identified, outlining a clear roadmap for future advancements.