Bioinspired Cilia Tactile Sensor Based on Soft Magnetic Amorphous Ribbon

With the booming development of electronic skin, bio-inspired cilia tactile sensors have garnered significant research interest due to their superior ability to detect tangential force. However, developing highly sensitive cilia tactile sensors with simple and reliable structures remains challenging. Inspired by the cilia structure of animals, this work proposes a soft magnetic tactile sensor based on the giant magneto-impedance (GMI) effect of amorphous ribbons. The amorphous ribbons serve as both artificial cilia and magnetic core of the inductive sensing element, enabling force-to-magnetic-field-to-electric conversion. The effects of driving frequency and coil windings on the sensing performance of the inductive sensing element were examined. Owing to the excellent soft magnetic and mechanical properties of the amorphous ribbons, the developed cilia tactile sensor demonstrates high sensitivity to weak tangential forces, detecting the gravity of a mu L water droplet and human respiratory airflow.