A Highly Integrated Multimodal Fingerprint Sensor Decorated Robotic Hand for Home-Based Healthcare

Flexible electronic skin (e-skin) has endowed humanoid robots with tactile perception capabilities rivaling, and in some aspects exceeding, human manual operation, laying a foundation for healthcare service applications. However, conventional flexible e-skin faces limitations in integration density, constrained by wiring bottlenecks, and signal crosstalk between sensing units inherent to its two-dimensional structure, hindering the development of sophisticated multimodal diagnostic and therapeutic robotic systems. Inspired by the structure of peripheral nerves, we develop a novel fingerprint-inspired sensor featuring a localized concentric ring architecture through meticulously designed conductive patterns and substrate geometry on thin-film circuits, followed by a rolling fabrication process. Pressure sensors are positioned in the strain-sensitive outer ring regions, while temperature, electrophysiological, and sweat sensors are integrated into strain-insensitive zones, significantly reducing signal interference. Furthermore, the system incorporates a single-side integrated signal output interface, greatly simplifying wiring complexity. When deployed on robotic platforms, this system discriminates Young’s moduli of manipulated objects and detects human sweat biomarkers, temperature, and electrophysiological signals during contact, providing essential technical foundations for elderly care robotics.