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Smart piezoresistive tunnelling composite for flexible robotic sensing skin

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2013 Smart Mater. Struct. 22 125039
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IOP PUBLISHING

SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES

Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 125039 (9pp)

doi:10.1088/0964-1726/22/12/125039

Smart piezoresistive tunnelling composite

for flexible robotic sensing skin
S Stassi1,2 , G Canavese2 , F Cosiansi3 , R Gazia2 , C Fallauto3 ,
S Corbellini3 , M Pirola3 and M Cocuzza2,4
1

Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24,
I-10129 Torino, Italy
2
Center for Space Human Robotics@PoliTo, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Trento 21, I-10129
Torino, Italy
3
Dipartimento di Elettronica, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, I-10129 Torino, Italy
4
CNR-IMEN, Parco Area delle Scienze 37, I-43124 Parma, Italy
E-mail: stefano.stassi@polito.it

Received 22 July 2013, in final form 18 October 2013

Published 22 November 2013
Online at stacks.iop.org/SMS/22/125039
Abstract
A highly mechanically flexible tactile device based on a metalelastomer composite material
was prepared by an efficient and simple process. The microcasting fabrication technique, used
for the preparation of a selfstanding sheet of functional material, gives the possibility of easily
fabricating complex-shaped structures suitable for integration on robot surfaces for tactile
sensing applications. Under the action of a compressive stress the composite material exhibits
a giant piezoresistive effect, varying its electrical resistance by several orders of magnitude.
This phenomenon can be tuned by changing the material composition parameters, which
directly modify the sensitivity of the sensor. After a comprehensive characterization of the
functional properties of the material, an 8 8 pressure sensor matrix with dedicated
electronics was fabricated and tested.
(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

1. Introduction

arrays are mounted at the contact interface and, similarly to

cutaneous sensing in humans, they collect data from localized
regions [4, 5].
Another approach to classify tactile sensors is based on
the working principle. There are literature reports on tactile
sensors exploiting resistive, capacitive, inductive, optical,
magnetic, piezoelectric, ultrasonic and magneto-electric
principles [68].
Concerning the coupling between tactile sensing devices
and the robot structure, two methods are generally adopted.
One consists of the integration, with the robot surface, of
arrays of separate sensing devices [9], while the other consists
of the application of a continuous sensitive film across the
whole robot surface [10]. The second method increasingly
involves piezoresistive materials. The transduction method of
piezoresistive materials is based on the variation, under an
applied mechanical stress, of the electric resistance.
Tactile sensor devices combining both piezoresistive
silicon components and polymers have been proved to provide

The challenge to transfer robots from the confined

environment of a production line to complex human
environments, where smart tasks and increasingly difficult
operations are required, has pushed towards the improvement
of not only in-hand manipulation and exploration tasks but
also of safe interactions. In order to satisfy these requirements,
there is an increased interest, in particular for humanoid
robots, in the development of large-area or whole-body
tactile sensing structures [1]. Moreover, the increase of
environmental complexity implies, as a consequence, a
differentiation of the sensing modalities [2].
Depending on the location of a sensor on a robot body, the
sensing capability can be classified as extrinsic and intrinsic
sensing. Intrinsic sensors, aimed at the replication of the
kinaesthetic sensing in humans, are usually placed within the
mechanical structure of the system and collect data such as the
magnitude of force and torque [3]. Extrinsic or tactile sensor
0964-1726/13/125039+09$33.00

c 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK & the USA

Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 125039

S Stassi et al

the electrons to tunnel between neighbouring particles. As

a consequence, the electrical conduction of the specimens
increases by several orders of magnitude.
A dedicated read-out circuit was designed for real-time
analysis and connected to an 8 8 tactile sensor array based
on the synthesized composite. A trans-impedance logarithmic
amplifier was used to manage the large variability of the
resistance on the whole resistance range and software for
tactile imaging was developed for the data elaboration and 3D
visualization of the applied pressure.

high sensitivity, high spatial resolution and ease of integration

into electronic devices [11, 12]. Nevertheless, since silicon is
a brittle material, the application of such devices is limited
in terms of flexibility or stretchability, particularly when the
sensors need to be packaged onto the curved surfaces of
surgical probes or robotic manipulators [13]. Furthermore,
the finite size of silicon wafers imposes size-related design
constraints on the dimensions of the tactile sensors.
Among the different materials used in piezoresistive
devices, composites based on polymers have several
advantages, such as flexibility, mechanical robustness, and
insensitivity to overload, and can be synthesized by simple
and low-cost techniques [8].
Properties such as flexibility, conformability and stretchability are necessary for easy integration of the sensing
structures with the bodies of robots and for the effective usage
of the touch sense modality in any robotic tactile system [14].
This work presents the design and fabrication of
an extrinsic, continuous sensitive film based on a new
piezoresistive material composed of microstructured copper
particles dispersed into a silicone rubber matrix.
Recently, electrodes made by winding copper wires
around an elastic nylon line have been proposed to electrically
connect discrete piezoresistive tactile elements based on metals (copper and silver), carbon and polymer composite [15].
The authors claim that their approach could decrease the cross
talk problem and at the same time increase the flexibility,
but neither functional characterizations nor the thickness
of the nodes have been reported. While the evaluation of
conductivity of composites with pure copper powder as
a conductive filler has been previously reported [16, 17],
to the best of our knowledge the present work is the first
time that microstructured copper particles in a PDMS matrix
composite have been successfully employed as a functional
material in tactile devices.
The advantages with respect to sensors fabricated
with nickel based composites reside in the much lower
amount of metal particles required to obtain a comparable
functional response, thus also increasing the flexibility of the
composite [18]. In addition, copper based composites show an
absence of toxicity problems (mainly related to the presence
of nickel oxide), whereas with respect to the synthesized gold
nanostars [17, 19] the use of commercial powders, such as the
copper ones, introduces no further issues related to cost of the
chemical precursors and synthesis control, time and yield.
The electrical conduction in the developed
copperelastomer composite occurs mainly by tunnelling
mechanisms, as already reported for other metalpolymer
hybrid systems with nickel [19, 20] and gold spiky
particle fillers [17]. In the prepared composite samples,
copper particles are intimately coated by the polymer, thus
avoiding any physical contact between them. This results
in an insulating electrical behaviour when no mechanical
deformation is applied to the specimens, even above the
expected percolation threshold [21]. When the samples are
subjected to a compressive strain, the gap represented by
the insulating layer between the metal particles is reduced,
thus causing an exponential increase of the probability for

2. Experimental methods
Selfstanding thin sheets of copperPDMS composite were
obtained with a microcasting technique that allows a
large degree of freedom in the shape and size of the
final sample [20]. Different functional materials were
prepared by dispersing 150, 200 and 250 parts per
hundred resin (phr) by weight of commercial copper
powder (POMETON LtdLT10) into the elastomer base
of a bi-component polydimethylsiloxane (Dow Corning
CorporationSYLGARD 184). The blend was gently hand
mixed, in order to avoid disruption of the tips on the particle
surface that would reduce their field enhancement effect,
for 1015 min to obtain a uniform paste. No solvents were
used to improve the particle dispersion because, as observed
by FESEM analysis, the fillers were adequately dispersed
by hand mixing to avoid a conductive path in the cured
composite. Then the PDMS curing agent was added to the
blend in a ratio of 1:10 by weight with respect to the
PDMS base. The obtained paste was then mixed manually
again to obtain a homogeneous distribution, poured into
poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) moulds, fabricated by a
milling technique, and outgassed under vacuum for 1 h at
room temperature. After all the air bubbles were eliminated,
the mould was clamped between two PMMA plates in order to
obtain flat surfaces. Then the composite was thermally cured
at 75 C for three hours and later removed from the moulds.
A graphical representation of the process flow is presented in
figure 1.
The quantity of metal filler was varied between 150
and 250 phr by weight, because they are the minimum
and maximum value for which it is possible to obtain a
piezoresistive composite. In fact, by adding less than 150 phr
the variation of electrical resistance under an applied pressure
(in the range 02 MPa) is not appreciable. On the other hand,
on increasing the copper content above the maximum value
the composites become too rigid and fragile and showed a
reticulation problem during the curing step [18].
Morphological and dispersion characterization were
performed both on the copper powder and the composite with
a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM, Zeiss
SupraTM 40) with an acceleration voltage of 3 kV.
Piezoresistive characterizations of the functional composites were carried out by applying a compressive pressure
with a universal mechanical testing machine (MTS Qtest 10),
that controls the force values by means of a load cell and
measuring the electrical resistance with a Keithley 2635A
2

Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 125039

S Stassi et al

Figure 1. Process flow of the realization of the composite material: (a) PDMS base weighing, copper particles weighing, (b) mixing,
(c) curing agent weighing, (d) mixing, mixture outgassing, (e) pouring in the mould, (f) closing with PMMA plates and (g) demolding.

sourcemeter coupled with a home-made sample holder. The

composite samples were placed between two stiff copper
plates, fixed to the grips of the testing machine, used as
electrodes, and thus connected with the sourcemeter. The
plates were previously cleaned with HClwater solution to
remove any residue of a copper oxide layer.
Piezoresistive composites were characterized in the
pressure range from 0 to 2 MPa, corresponding to force
values up to 200 N. The application of a compressive load
to the samples was controlled in strain and applied with a
displacement speed of 0.1 mm min1 .

of the microstructured copperPDMS with other tunnelling

composites with rounded fillers. Actually a considerably
lower variation of the electrical resistance at the same applied
pressure was obtained in composites using zinc, nickel and
also smoother copper particles [22, 23].
Tunnelling conduction is the dominant mechanism
in these composites, but is not the only one present.
Electrical field induced emission [24], RichardsonSchottky
transmission types and PoleFrenkel conduction [25] are
secondary order conduction mechanisms and therefore
negligible. In contrast, the percolation mechanism is
negligible in the pressure range of interest for this study,
while for elevated pressures it becomes predominant because
the insulating layer can no longer avoid contact between
conductive particles strictly close to each other.
The piezoresistive behaviour of the copperPDMS
composite could be simulated with a complex mathematical
model, proposed by Lantada et al [26] and successively
simplified through the elimination of the temperature and
time dependence [18]. The model can be applied to any
composite with a tunnelling conductive mechanism and can
predict the functional response of the material depending on
the composition and applied pressure. These simulated data
are fundamental for the fabrication of the composite and
its implementation and calibration in the tactile sensor. The
response of the material was modelled by investigating the
effect of a compressive pressure on the quantum model of the
potential barrier represented by the insulating polymeric layer
between two spiky particles. In fact in quantum mechanics
there is a non-zero probability that an electron can cross
a potential barrier even if its energy is lower than the
height of the barrier. This tunnelling probability corresponds
to the square root of the barrier transmission coefficient
T, describing the percentage of the incident electron wave
crossing the potential barrier [27], computed starting from

3. Functional composite materials

3.1. Tunnelling conduction model
The electrical conduction inside the composite sample is
attributed to a quantum tunnelling mechanism and is enhanced
by the characteristic morphology of the particles, presenting
very sharp spikes on the surface [17, 21]. The presence of
these particular protuberances on the copper powder helps
the polymer to intimately coat the filler, avoiding physical
contact between neighbouring particles. In the absence of any
applied pressure, the composite presents an insulating electric
behaviour (hundreds of M up to some G). In contrast,
when the composite is compressed and therefore deformed,
the insulating layer between the particles is reduced, causing
an increase of the tunnelling probability of the electrons
and consequently an exponential decrease of the electrical
resistance of the sample.
This tunnelling behaviour is promoted by the characteristic shape of the particles, presenting multi-branched
microstructures covered by very sharp nanometric spikes on
the surface. The role of the tips in the functional material
is well-rendered by comparing the piezoresistive response
3

Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 125039

S Stassi et al

Figure 2. FESEM images of (a) the copper powder and (b) the copperPDMS composite.

Schrodinger equation as:

p
2 (sinh(2 d 2m( E)/h2 ))2
T = 1+
4E( E)

Table 1. Parameters of the theoretical calculation.

!1
(1)

where d and are the width and the height of the

potential barrier constituted by the PDMS film, E and m
are the electron energy and mass respectively, and h is the
Planck constant. Therefore the tunnelling current between two
metallic conductive particles through the polymeric insulating
gap is proportional to the probability of one electron to cross
it. The probability varies under an external perturbation that
directly modifies the dimensions of the barrier. Since in this
work the measurements were performed at room temperature
and with a compression velocity high enough to neglect the
creep effect, the potential barrier was considered subjected
only to mechanical deformation according to the following
equation:


p
p
,
d = d0 1
(2)
= 0 1
G
G
where d0 and 0 are the width and the height of the
potential barrier without any mechanical deformation, and
G the polymer compressive modulus. In this analysis the
compressive modulus of the metal (orders of magnitude
higher with respect to the PDMS value) is not taken
into account since the particle deformation is negligible if
compared with those of the elastomeric matrix.
From the above consideration, it is possible to evaluate
the resistance R of the whole composite sample under a
mechanical compressive pressure as a variation from the
resistance value in the undeformed state R0 , proportional to
the ratio of the tunnelling probability, and thus to the two
barrier transmission coefficients, T0 and T, in the absence and
in the presence of an external perturbation, respectively:
R(p) = R0 (T0 /T)1/2

1/2

2 (sinh(2d 2m(E)/h2 ))2

1
+
4E(E)

= R0

.
02 (sinh(2d0 2m(0 E)/h2 ))2
1+
4E(0 E)

Symbol

Parameter

Values and units

m
h

d0
R0
G

Electron mass
Planck constant
Potential barrier height
Interparticle gap
Electrical resistance at 0 Pa
Compressive modulus

9.1 1031
6.63 1034
0.73 eV
2580 nma
0.31 Ga
E0 + E1 p + E2 p2b

Depending on the filler amount.

Fitting of the stressstrain curve with a parameter depending on
the filler amount.
b

data sheet and manufacturer. R0 and G depend on the type of

sample. In particular to improve the precision of the fitting, G
was not used as a constant value, but as a quadratic function
computed by fitting the stressstrain curves of each composite
sample. The interparticle gap d0 was evaluated by considering
all the particles as spherical and of the same size, as already
reported in [18], a strong assumption that anyway resulted
in an excellent fit to the experimental curves. The value of
the height of the potential barrier was obtained by Lantadas
work [26] and modified according to copper instead of nickel.
A summary of the main parameters used in the theoretical
calculation are reported in table 1.
3.2. Material characterizations
Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM)
micrographs acquired on the as-received copper powder
showed particles in the range 1020 m, having a highly
irregular surface. The particles present multi-branched
microstructures covered by very sharp spikes (up to a few
micrometres in length), as shown in figure 2(a). Further
FESEM observations were collected on the cured composite
showing that the mechanical mixing step ensures a uniform
distribution of the metal particles inside the polymer matrix,
avoiding the formation of large aggregates and damage on the
particle surface (figure 2(b)).
The piezoresistive composite material was tested between
0 and 2 MPa because this working range includes the
boundary of extrinsic tactile sensing applications, aimed to
reproduce the cutaneous sense of touch, which are limited

(3)

The material properties and parameters used for the fitting of

the curves in this work were measured or obtained from the
4

Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 125039

S Stassi et al

to some hundreds of kPa [2, 8]. Additionally it is possible

to use these functional materials not only for tactile sensors,
requiring higher pressure value limits, such as joint sensors,
but also for other devices not necessarily related to the robotic
field.
The mobility of the copper particles inside the elastomer
matrix directly affects the piezoresistive behaviour of the
composite. In fact the probability of tunnelling of the electrons
increases when the insulating polymeric layer placed between
two neighbouring particles is deformed and thinned by
the external load. Since the PDMS used in this work
is a bi-component, the Youngs modulus of the obtained
composite can be tuned by varying the copolymercuring
agent ratio [28]. Then the sensitivity of the final material to
the applied pressure would be lower for compositions with
a higher content of PDMS curing agent with respect to the
base, since more cross-linked polymer with higher stiffness
would be obtained [29]. This effect is further enhanced in a
composite with a lower content of copper particles, because
the thickness of the polymeric layer between metal particles
increases. On the basis of the observation reported in our
previous work on nickelsilicone composites [30], a 10:1
basecuring agent ratio was selected for the copperPDMS
composite, thus guaranteeing the optimal stiffness in order
to achieve the sensitivities requested in tactile sensing
applications.
Furthermore, since the functional material is composed
of a metal part and a polymer part, the variation of their
mutual concentrations tunes the composite piezoresistive
response, modifying, as a consequence, the sensitivity of
the final sensor. A higher metallic filler quantity means a
higher pressure sensitivity since the tunnelling gap between
close particles in the undeformed state is smaller than in
composites with a lower metallic content. This gap is further
reduced when the sample is compressed. An example of the
functional response of the copperPDMS is shown in figure 3
for samples with a thickness of 1 mm. All the compositions
exhibit an insulating behaviour without any applied pressure.
The electrical resistance of the undeformed sample is higher
than 100 M, confirming that the copper particles are
completely covered by the polymer, as already observed
by the FESEM analysis, and there are no conductive paths
inside the composite. Under the application of a compressive
pressure, the resistance of the samples decreases by several
orders of magnitude. At 2 MPa the sample of 250 phr
suffers a variation of around eight orders of magnitude,
whereas the 200 phr composition varies by seven orders,
and the 150 phr by just three orders. The comparison of
the functional response of the different composites with
the behaviour computed with equation (3) reveals that the
theoretical model predicts the piezoresistive response of the
material well for all the ranges of applied pressure, taking into
account the experimental error obtained over an average of ten
measurements, thus confirming that the prevalent conduction
mechanism in the composite is quantum tunnelling.
Piezoresistive materials can be analysed and compared
by evaluating their piezosensitivity and strain sensitivity. The

Figure 3. Comparison between the experimental and theoretical

piezoresistive response of the copperPDMS composite as a
function of the copper to PDMS weight ratio.

piezosensitivity is defined as the fractional change in electrical

resistance due to an applied pressure [31]:
dR 1
d ln R
=
(4)
R dP
dP
where R is the resistance and P the pressure. For
our composites the piezosensitivity was calculated to be
0.0109 kPa1 for the 250 phr sample, 0.0061 kPa1 for the
200 phr sample and 0.0037 kPa1 for the 150 phr sample.
These values are in line with the piezoresistive composite
made with PDMS or epoxy resin using nickel particles as
filler [31, 32].
The strain sensitivity of a material is indicated by the
gauge factor (GF), which is the ratio of relative change in
electrical resistance to the applied strain [22]:
Sp =

1 dR
.
(5)
R d
The gauge factor values calculated for the 250 phr, the 200 phr
and the 150 phr samples are 48, 42 and 27, respectively.
These gauge factors are higher than the values found for
polymer composites prepared with zinc particles or other
copper particles (30 or lower) [22, 23], but lower than
those found for nickel based composites (200) [23, 31],
where the metal content is higher. Obviously the correlation
between piezosensitivity and GF is the elastic modulus of the
functional material, hence a composite with a low gauge factor
could have a high piezosensitivity, which is more interesting
for fabricating a tactile sensor array.
The shape and size of the copperPDMS composite
sheet are other fundamental parameters able to affect the
piezosensitivity of the sensor. Figure 4 reports the functional
responses of 10 mm 10 mm copperPDMS composite
samples fabricated with 200 and 250 phr compositions
with different thicknesses (0.5, 1 and 2 mm). A highly
nonlinear relationship between the electrical resistance and
thickness can be noticed. The value of resistance in the
undeformed state is again very high for all the specimens,
GF =

Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 125039

S Stassi et al

Figure 4. Piezoresistive response of copperPDMS as a function of the thickness for composites with (a) 200 phr and (b) 250 phr
composition.

while under compression the pressure sensitivity is much

higher for thinner samples, especially in the 250 phr, 0.5 mm
thick sample, where the electrical resistance of the material
becomes lower than the contact value before reaching 2 MPa
of applied pressure.
A fatigue characterization was also performed on the
250 phr sample, the stiffer among the various composites. The
piezoresistive sample was subjected to 104 bending cycles
with a 2 mm of radius of curvature of the fold. No significant
variations of the piezoresistive response were observed after
the test, thus revealing a high fatigue performance.

4. Matrix tactile sensor

Figure 5. Image of the sensor connected to the dedicated electronic
board.

4.1. Sensor design and fabrication

For the fabrication of the pressure sensor, metal electrodes
were deposited by the radio frequency magnetron sputtering
technique on both the sides of a composite sample with
an area of 40 mm 40 mm and a thickness of 1 mm.
Electrodes were patterned in the shape of 2 mm-wide
parallel strips, eight on each side, in such a way that they
ideally perpendicularly crossed the strips deposited on the
opposite sample side, thus creating an 8 8 matrix of
nodes. Each strip consisted of a first layer of titanium
(20 nm), working as adhesion layer, and a film of gold
(200 nm). The electrodes were characterized by a good
adhesion to the surface of the composite, and preserved their
conductivity even after several stretching and compressive
deformations. Each electrode was connected to an equivalent
pattern, fabricated on Cu-metallized polyimide, by means of
a conductive silver paste. Finally the sensor was passivated
with a few micrometres thick layer of pure PDMS (10:1
basecuring agent ratio by weight) by the spinning technique.
A customized electronic circuit was fabricated on a
printed circuit board (PCB) to monitor the resistance value
of each node of the sensor matrix (figure 5) and the acquired
data for the processing step were sent to a PC, thus providing
the intensity and spatial distribution of the pressure through
a graphical software. The main parameters of the whole
read-out circuit are summarized in table 2.

Table 2. Parameters of the read-out system.

Parameter

Value

Number of nodes
Node scan rate
Matrix scan rate
Number of bits of the ADC
Voltage input to the node
Current range of the trans-impedance
logarithmic amplifier
Nodes of the software grid

8 8 = 64
2 kHz
31.25 Hz
12
1V
100 pA to
10 mA
34 34 = 1156

The system evaluates the resistance of each node by

applying a fixed voltage to the element and measuring
the value of the current flowing through it. Each node
investigation is performed at a frequency of 2 kHz, so that
the whole matrix, composed of 64 elements is measured at a
frequency of around 30 Hz, providing a real-time response
and visualization. Each of the 64 nodes is investigated by
applying a fixed voltage of 1 V to the corresponding row
and by measuring the flowing current which is collected
from its corresponding column; two analog multiplexers
(controlled by the microcontroller) are employed to connect
the measuring circuit to the desired row and column of
6

Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 125039

S Stassi et al

Figure 6. Basic schematic of the sensor dedicated electronic board.

the matrix. The multiplexers were chosen to ensure that

their leakage current remains negligible with respect to the
minimum current expected when no pressure is applied on the
sensing material.
One of the most challenging requirements of the
circuit is represented by the combination of the rather high
measurement rate and the tremendously wide range of the
material resistance, which can easily span from 100  to
10 G. In the designed circuit, this issue is tackled by
means of a trans-impedance logarithmic amplifier which
converts the flowing current back into a voltage that can be
directly acquired by a low-cost microcontroller without loss in
sensitivity. The converter can handle a current range of eight
decades, from 100 pA to 10 mA. This strategy, resorting to a
preliminary log compression, permits one to sweep the whole
range without gain control and adjustment of the transducer
stage.
Then the resulting voltage is sampled by a 12 bit analog
to digital converter (ADC), embedded in the microcontroller
and sent to the PC for conversion into pressure values and
visualization. A basic schematic of the whole system is
presented in figure 6.
A specifically designed computer program was prepared
to permit the real-time analysis of the applied pressure. The
program receives the voltage signal, converts it into pressure
values, using a calibration law experimentally determined,
and saves the measurements of the 8 8 matrix. A 3D
representation depicts the spatial planar distribution of the
applied pressure, by changing the heights of the nodes, placed
on a horizontal grid, corresponding to the sensor matrix
elements. The grid size is increased to 34 34 to return
a visually clear representation of the sensor matrix, with
smooth transactions between adjacent nodes. The larger grid
is constructed by inserting new empty elements into the
measurement matrix and by convolving the result with the
interpolating matrix shown in table 3. Some of the elements
of the new grid are in common between two sensing elements.

Figure 7. Images of the sensing composite sheet with sputtered

electrodes bent at different radii of curvature.
Table 3. Interpolating matrix for the enlargement of the software
grid.
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1

0.1
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.1

0.2
0.8
1
1
0.8
0.2

0.2
0.8
1
1
0.8
0.2

0.1
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.1

0.1
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1

radii of curvature between 6 mm and 1 mm, as shown in

figure 7. The tested composite was the 250 phr sample, the
stiffer among the three compositions, because of the higher
metal content. The samples were bent 100 times and every
time they returned to their original shape without showing any
defects induced by the test. After the test, the conductivity of
the electrodes was measured to be the same as before bending
and FESEM images confirm that no important structural
cracks were created.
The resistance to overload of the sensor matrix was
evaluated by submitting the sensing device up to 10 MPa.
The test was carried out by the set-up described in the
experimental methods. After the release of compressive load
the sample show no permanent deformation and an unvaried
piezoresistive response.
The repeatability of the sensor was tested by measuring
the voltage output of the electronic board during twenty
applications of compressive pressure up to 2 MPa with
the mechanical testing machine. The average sensor node
response with the measurement error is reported in figure 8. It
is noteworthy that the percentage measurement error is always
below 5%, and even below 2% after 0.9 MPa of applied
pressure. The sensitivity of the sensor is not constant in the
entire 2 MPa range, but decreases with increasing applied
pressure. In order to express a sensitivity value S, the whole

4.2. Sensor characterization

The flexibility and quality of the electrodes of the sensor were
tested by bending the sensing composite sheet at different
7

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S Stassi et al

Figure 9. Screenshot of the computer program during a

measurement session showing the applied pressure distribution.

Figure 8. Sensor output voltage under the application of a

compressive pressure profile up to 2 MPa. The sensor response and
the error bars were calculated with an evaluation over 20 different
measurements on the same matrix node. On the graph are reported
the sensor sensitivity in the three different pressure ranges.

electronics and software for 3D representations of pressure

distribution, was indeed prepared and tested, showing that
spiky copper particles can be used, here for the first time, for
such purposes. Moreover, the possibility to tailor the pressure
sensitivity, by controlling the composition and thickness of the
functional material, makes these composites good candidates
as sensitive elements for a wide range of applications, not
only as robotic tactile sensors. Since the composite is based
on a viscoelastic polymer, future works for tactile sensor
improvements will be focused on compensation and reduction
of the hysteretic behaviour of the functional material.

pressure range was divided into three different sections and

an average value was computed for each section using the
following formula:
Sx =

dVout 1
Vout dP

(6)

where Vout is the sensor output voltage. Between 0 and

0.25 MPa the sensor sensitivity is 8.77 MPa1 , while
it decreases considerably between 0.25 and 0.85 MPa to
2.21 MPa1 , and even more in the range up to 2 MPa,
reaching a value of 0.63 MPa1 .
Similarly the reproducibility of the sensor matrix was
tested by applying the same compressive pressure profile (up
to 2 MPa) to all the 64 nodes of the matrix separately. The
response of the functional nodes is highly reproducible, with a
percentage error below 7.5%, and even below 5% after 1 MPa
of applied pressure.
The sensor output is later sent to the tactile imaging
software which elaborates the data, converting it in a pressure
value and graphically showing the pressure distribution on the
matrix. An example is reported in figure 9 with a screenshot
of the software during a measurement session showing, with a
change in colour and shape, the pressure applied to the nodes
of the matrix.

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5. Conclusion
We have reported a simple, fast and economic route for
the preparation of a mechanical flexible piezoresistive sensor
based on an innovative metal fillerpolymer matrix composite
for robotic tactile applications. The electrical resistance of
the composite is found to be highly sensitive to compressive
pressure, with variations by up to eight orders of magnitude.
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cyclic tests. A tactile sensor device, including read-out
8

Smart Mater. Struct. 22 (2013) 125039

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