Bioinspired, highly sensitive interlocked flexible textile pressure sensor based on multilayer SWCNTs/PVP/rGO dendritic for gesture recognition

The development of wearable gesture recognition systems, capable of converting intricate human gestures into electric signals and graphical representations, poses significant challenges for future advancements in health monitoring and human-machine interfaces. In response to this demand, we present an approach centered on a cell-inspired, multiscale hierarchical structural piezoresistive pressure sensor designed for gesture recognition applications. The breathable, hierarchically interlocked textile pressure sensor (PFPA), featuring a SWCNTs/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) dendritic structure combined with a PANI/PVA cylindrical array, exhibits remarkable properties. The dendritic electrodes, composed of SWCNTs and PVP in a 1:2 ratio, maintain optimal regularity. Meanwhile, the cylindrical PANI/PVA array is meticulously engineered with a radius of 200 μm, a height of 200 μm, and an inter-cylindrical spacing of 150 μm. The PFPA demonstrates an unprecedented ultrahigh sensitivity of 80.8 kPa−1 across a pressure range of 0–5 kPa, coupled with a rapid response time of 150 ms and minimal hysteresis of 16.1 %. The PFPA also demonstrates outstanding repeatability, with no significant performance degradation observed after 4000 cycles. By correlating the bending angles of finger joints with resistance changes, we successfully integrated these sensors into a glove, enabling precise gesture recognition. The multilayer SWCNTs/PVP/rGO dendritic and PANI/PVA cylindrical array pressure sensor exhibits superior sensing performance and accurate posture capture. This demonstrates its significant potential for applications in wearable electronics and intelligent devices, marking a substantial advancement in the field. •Smart gesture system with interlocked sensors.•Superior sensing performance.•Real-time gesture recognition with visual display.