• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2022

Wearable devices have the potential to revolutionize future medical diagnostics and personal healthcare. The integration of biosensors into scalable form factors allow continuous and noninvasive monitoring of key biomarkers and various physiological indicators. However, conventional wearable devices have critical limitations owing to their rigid and obtrusive interfaces. Recent developments in functional biocompatible materials, micro/nanofabrication methods, multimodal sensor mechanisms, and device integration technologies have provided the foundation for novel skin-interfaced bioelectronics for advanced and user-friendly wearable devices. Nonetheless, it is a great challenge to satisfy a wide range of design parameters in fabricating an authentic skin-interfaced device while maintaining its edge over conventional devices. This review highlights recent advances in skin-compatible materials, biosensor performance, and energy-harvesting methods that shed light on the future of wearable devices for digital health and personalized medicine.

• Prospectives of Industrial Chemistry
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.3-18
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• 2018

전자피부(Electronic skin)는 외부 환경과의 상호작용하는 인간 피부의 기능을 대체하여 외부 자극 신호를 전기적 신호로 변환하는 센서들로 이루어진 인공피부로써, 최근 인간과 전자기기 간의 인터페이스에 대한 관심이 급증하면서 이에 대한 많은 연구들이 진행되고 있다. 그중에서도 피부의 주된 기능인 외부 물리적 자극을 인지하는 촉각을 모방하는 촉각센서는 많은 발전을 거쳐 왔으며, 한계를 극복하고자 다양한 연구들이 진행되고 있다. 촉각센서는 압력, 인장, 굽힘과 같은 물리적 자극에 반응하며, 물리적 자극 신호를 아날로그 및 디지털 신호로 변환하여 인지하는 연구들이 폭넓게 개발되고 있다. 또한, 소자의 구조에 따라 물리적 자극을 전달하는 다양한 변환 방식들이 있으며, 최근에는 각 신호 변환 방식의 민감도, 반응속도, 자극 인지 범위 등의 한계점을 극복하고, 소재의 기계적 물성을 향상시키기 위해 소재의 변형을 주거나 생체의 기관 구조 및 외부 자극 인지 원리 등을 모사한 연구들이 많은 관심을 받고 있다. 본 기고에서는 이러한 촉각센서의 물리적 자극 신호 변환 방식과 소재 변형 및 생체 모사를 통한 다양한 연구들을 소개하고자 하며, 이를 통하여 촉각센서의 나아갈 방향을 제시하고자 한다.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers D
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.550-557
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• 2006

This paper proposes a dry-type surface myoelectric sensor for the myoelectric hand prosthesis. The designed surface myoelectric sensor is composed of skin interface and processing circuits. The skin interface has one reference and two input electrodes, and the reference electrode is located in the center of two input electrodes. In this paper is proposed two types of sensors with the circle- and bar-shaped reference electrode, but all input electrodes are the bar-shaped. The metal material of the electrodes is the stainless steel (SUS440) that endures sweat and wet conditions. Considering the conduction velocity and the median frequency of the myoelectric signal, the inter-electrode distance (IED) between two input electrodes as 18mm, 20mm, and 22mm is selected. The signal processing circuit consists of a differential amplifier with a band pass filter, a band rejection filter for rejecting 60Hz power-line noise, amplifiers, and a mean absolute value(MAV) circuit. Using SUS440, six prototype skin interface with different reference electrode shape and IED is fabricated, and their output characteristics are evaluated by output signal obtained from the forearm of a healthy subject. The experimental results show that the skin interface with parallel bar shape and the 18mm IED has a good output characteristics. The fabricated dry-type surface myoelectric sensor is evaluated for the upper-limb amputee.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.179-187
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• 2023

In this study, we developed a microfiber-based flexible pressure sensor with high sensitivity and excellent skin breathability. A nonwoven fabric composed of microfibers was prepared by electrospinning, which resulted in excellent moisture permeability of the sensor (143 g∙m^-2∙h^-1). In particular, high-pressure sensitivity (0.36 kPa^-1) was achieved by introducing submicron structures on the microfiber surface by controlling the ambient humidity during electrospinning. The fabrication technology of the microfiber-based flexible pressure sensors reported in this study is expected to contribute to the commercialization of flexible pressure sensors applicable to long-term wearable health monitoring as well as virtual/augmented reality and electronic skin applications.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.93-105
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• 2011

This paper presents a flexible low-profile antenna sensor for fatigue crack detection and monitoring. The sensor was inspired by the sense of pain in bio-systems as a protection mechanism. Because the antenna sensor does not need wiring for power supply or data transmission, it is an ideal candidate as sensing elements for the implementation of engineering sensor skins with a dense sensor distribution. Based on the principle of microstrip patch antenna, the antenna sensor is essentially an electromagnetic cavity that radiates at certain resonant frequencies. By implementing a metallic structure as the ground plane of the antenna sensor, crack development in the metallic structure due to fatigue loading can be detected from the resonant frequency shift of the antenna sensor. A monostatic microwave radar system was developed to interrogate the antenna sensor remotely. Fabrication and characterization of the antenna sensor for crack monitoring as well as the implementation of the remote interrogation system are presented.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.173-178
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• 2023

Recently, there has been a significant focus on the development of flexible and stretchable sensors, driven by advancements in electronic devices and the robotics industry. Among these sensors, tactile sensors stand out as the most actively researched, playing a crucial role in facilitating interaction between humans and electronic devices, particularly in robotics and medical applications. This study specifically involves the manufacturing of a capacitive tactile sensor using a relatively straightforward process and sensor structure. Natural rubber and Nitrile butadiene rubber, commonly employed in the rubber industry, were utilized. The dielectric material in the manufactured tactile sensor possesses a porous structure. Notably, the resulting tactile sensor demonstrated excellent sensitivity, approximately 1%/kPa, and exhibited the capability to detect pressures up to 212 kPa.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.147-152
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• 2015

We designed, fabricated, and tested the capacitive microsensors for skin piloerection monitoring. The performance of the skin piloerection monitoring sensor was characterized using the artificial bump, representing human skin goosebump; thus, resulting in the sensitivity of $-0.00252%/{\mu}m$ and the nonlinearity of 25.9 % for the artificial goosebump deformation in the range of $0{\sim}326{\mu}m$. We also verified two successive human skin piloerection having 3.5 s duration on the subject's dorsal forearms, thus resulting in the capacitance change of -6.2 fF and -9.2 fF compared to the initial condition, corresponding to the piloerection intensity of $145{\mu}m$ and $194{\mu}m$, respectively. It was demonstrated experimentally that the proposed sensor is capable to measure the human skin piloerection objectively and quantitatively, thereby suggesting the quantitative evaluation method of the qualitative human emotional state for cognitive human-machine interfaces applications.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.402-408
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• 2014

Heart rate is one of the most important signal to monitor the health condition of the patient or exerciser. Various wearable devices have been developed for the continuous monitoring of ECG signal from human body during exercise. Among these, ECG chest belt has been widely used. However wearing chest belt with ECG sensor is uncomfortable in normal life due to the electrode contact between metal electrodes of ECG sensor and skin of the human body. So we develop the royal healthcare backpack that can measure ECG signal without skin contact by using capacitor-type ECG sensor. The position of the measurement point is critical to collect a clear ECG signal in the capacitive ECG measurement from backpack. Various tests were conducted to find the optimal ECG measurement position which has less noise and could get strong and clear ECG signal during exercise, walking, hiking, mountain climbing and cycling.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.280-286
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• 2007

The wearable sensor glove was developed using EDA sensors and conducting fabric. EDA(Electro-dermal Activity) signal is an electric response of human skin. There are SIL(Skin Impedance Level) and SIR(Skin Impedance Response) in EDA. SIL consists mostly of a DC component while SIR consists of an AC component. The relationship between drowsiness and the EDA signal is utilized. EDA sensors were made using a conducting fabric instead of AgCl electrodes, for a more suitable, more wearable device. The EDA signal acquisition module was made by connecting the EDA sensor gloves through conductive fabric lines. Also, the EDA signal acquisition module can be connected to a PC that shows the results of the EDA signal processing analysis and gives proper feedback to the user. This system can be used in various applications to detect drowsiness and prevent accidents from drowsiness for automobile drivers.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.381-397
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• 2013

In this paper, wireless health monitoring of stay cables using piezoelectric strain sensors and a smart skin technique is presented. For the cables, tension forces are estimated to examine their health status from vibration features with consideration of temperature effects. The following approaches are implemented to achieve the objective. Firstly, the tension force estimation utilizing the piezoelectric sensor-embedded smart skin is presented. A temperature correlation model to recalculate the tension force at a temperature of interest is designed by correlating the change in cable's dynamic features and temperature variation. Secondly, the wireless health monitoring system for stay cables is described. A piezoelectric strain sensor node and a tension force monitoring software which is embedded in the sensor are designed. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed monitoring technique is evaluated on stay cables of the Hwamyung Grand Bridge in Busan, Korea.