Abstract:

Because of softness and lightness, various flexible sensors have attracted extensive attention and been widely studied. Sensing mechanism of most wearable sensors is derived from an elastic substrate, such as fabric or polymer materials. Although the mechanical-electrical performance of several flexible sensors has been reported, including sensitivity, linearity hysteresis and repeatability, research on the effects of substrate elasticity on sensor capacity is scarce. In this paper, the impact of spandex content, washing and ironing processing on the elasticity of weft knitted sensors was investigated by the constant- extension test method. Afterwards, differences in sensing properties between diverse elastic sensors under single as well as repeated stretch were reported. The experimental results showed that spandex content does influence the elasticity of knitted fabric, which has a further great effect on sensing properties. A highly elastic sensor is capable of detecting large-scale human motions, while sensors with lower elasticity are opposite, which demonstrates that elastic sensors can be designed and chosen to meet the requirements of detecting and monitoring distinct human motions.