Enhancement of Diversity in Production and Applications Utilizing Electrolytically Polymerized Rubber Sensors with MCF: The Second Report on Various Engineering Applications

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 20; no. 17; p. 4674
• Main Authors: Shimada, Kunio, Ikeda, Ryo, Kikura, Hiroshige, Takahashi, Hideharu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 19.08.2020; MDPI AG
• Subjects: biology; cosmetics; diene rubber; electrolytic polymerization; sensor; texture
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s20174674

We investigated the proposed hybrid skin (H-Skin) for the requirement of haptic sensibility in rubber using our proposed consummate fabrication process together with a multi-layered magnetic compound fluid (MCF) rubber and stocking-like porous rubber permeated by liquids, which was demonstrated in our previous report. The objective was to assess its applicability to sensing normal force and temperature, as well as fields dominated by shear force. For normal force, we investigated the piezo-electricity and electric current induced voltage, as well as the piezo-resistivity of the MCF rubber sensor under pressure. Additionally, we clarified the viability of measuring the softness and texture of materials using the MCF rubber sensor. For the shear motion, we clarified the characteristics of the friction coefficient using the MCF rubber sensor. The MCF rubber sensor can capture the reactions of paper, cloth, convex- and concave-shaped objects such as plant leaves and metal, and the skin of the human finger. Therefore, it is useful to investigate its texture and biological surfaces. Our obtained outstanding results indicated the feasibility of sensing the surface texture for any material in fields such as paper, fashion, apparel manufacturing, and cosmetic industries, which was impossible until now.