Science Daily July 1, 2022
Previously reported wearable sensors for smart human–machine interaction have limited sound-sensing quality as a consequence of a poor frequency response and a narrow acoustic-pressure range. Researchers in South Korea have developed a skin-attachable acoustic sensor that has higher sensing accuracy in wider auditory field than human ears, with flat frequency response (15–10 000 Hz) and a good range of linearity (29–134 dBSPL) as well as high conformality to flexible surfaces and human skin. They exploited the low residual stress and high processability of polymer materials in a diaphragm structure designed using acousto-mechano-electric modeling to achieve the high sound-sensing quality. The sensor is ultrasmall, thin, has high acoustic fidelity, maintains sound-detection quality on flexible substrates and in a wide temperature range (25 to 90 °C)…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Schematic diagram of polymer-based skin-attachable acoustic sensor. Attached on the skin. Comparative graph of sound detection. Credit: POSTECH