Robust and scalable three-dimensional spacer textile pressure sensor for human motion detection

There is a growing demand for wearable sensing devices to perceive and respond to vital biological signals or human activities. In this work, a carbon nanotube ink drop-coated textile resistive pressure sensor on a typical three-dimensional (3D) spacer textile was developed to detect human health and motion through scalable, cost-effective, and simple processing. A 3D spacer textile comprises two outer layers interconnected with a monofilament spacer with robust compression resistance and high air circulation with open-hole structures, which demonstrates the potential for use in a wearable pressure sensing device. The textile pressure sensor unit shows a wide range of sensing performance of 200 Pa–50 kPa, which facilitates the detection of physiological signal acoustic vibrations and hand motion, and it exhibits stable cycling performances up to 10 000 cycles, along with a fast response time of 20 ms. Furthermore, large-area sensor arrays are successfully demonstrated for the spatial distribution of pressure mapping, suggesting significant potential in smart textiles or wearable electronics.