Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40833472›Full record

ReviewNano-micro letters2025

Flexible Tactile Sensing Systems: Challenges in Theoretical Research Transferring to Practical Applications.

Zhiyu Yao, Wenjie Wu, Fengxian Gao, Min Gong, Liang Zhang, Dongrui Wang, Baochun Guo, Liqun Zhang, Xiang Lin

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Nano-micro letters, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Geometry-Encoded Soft Strain Sensing via Liquid-Metal Transmission Lines.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Zhiyu YaoLab of Polymer Additive Manufacturing, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, People's Republic of China.
Wenjie WuInstitute of Emergent Elastomers, Guangzhou International Campus, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 511442, People's Republic of China. wuwenjie@scut.edu.cn.
Fengxian GaoLab of Polymer Additive Manufacturing, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, People's Republic of China.
Min GongLab of Polymer Additive Manufacturing, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, People's Republic of China.
Liang ZhangLab of Polymer Additive Manufacturing, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, People's Republic of China.
Dongrui WangLab of Polymer Additive Manufacturing, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, People's Republic of China.
Baochun GuoInstitute of Emergent Elastomers, Guangzhou International Campus, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 511442, People's Republic of China.
Liqun ZhangInstitute of Emergent Elastomers, Guangzhou International Campus, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 511442, People's Republic of China.
Xiang LinLab of Polymer Additive Manufacturing, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, People's Republic of China. linxiang@ustb.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Since the first design of tactile sensors was proposed by Harmon in 1982, tactile sensors have evolved through four key phases: industrial applications (1980s, basic pressure detection), miniaturization via MEMS (1990s), flexible electronics (2010s, stretchable materials), and intelligent systems (2020s-present, AI-driven multimodal sensing). With the innovation of material, processing techniques, and multimodal fusion of stimuli, the application of tactile sensors has been continuously expanding to a diversity of areas, including but not limited to medical care, aerospace, sports and intelligent robots. Currently, researchers are dedicated to develop tactile sensors with emerging mechanisms and structures, pursuing high-sensitivity, high-resolution, and multimodal characteristics and further constructing tactile systems which imitate and approach the performance of human organs. However, challenges in the combination between the theoretical research and the practical applications are still significant. There is a lack of comprehensive understanding in the state of the art of such knowledge transferring from academic work to technical products. Scaled-up production of laboratory materials faces fatal challenges like high costs, small scale, and inconsistent quality. Ambient factors, such as temperature, humidity, and electromagnetic interference, also impair signal reliability. Moreover, tactile sensors must operate across a wide pressure range (0.1 kPa to several or even dozens of MPa) to meet diverse application needs. Meanwhile, the existing algorithms, data models and sensing systems commonly reveal insufficient precision as well as undesired robustness in data processing, and there is a realistic gap between the designed and the demanded system response speed. In this review, oriented by the design requirements of intelligent tactile sensing systems, we summarize the common sensing mechanisms, inspired structures, key performance, and optimizing strategies, followed by a brief overview of the recent advances in the perspectives of system integration and algorithm implementation, and the possible roadmap of future development of tactile sensors, providing a forward-looking as well as critical discussions in the future industrial applications of flexible tactile sensors.

Indexed as

FlexibilityMultimodalRobotic hapticsSystem integrationTactile sensation

Identifiers

PMID40833472
PMCPMC12367639

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.