An Intelligent Tactile Sensor Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerator and Support Vector Machine: A New Approach for Material and Fingerprint Recognition

Tactile sensing plays an important role in human-machine interaction, providing sensing capabilities for intelligent devices. This article proposes an intelligent tactile sensor based on a triboelectric nanogenerator and support vector machine (TS-TENG). It comprises two single-electrode units, which can be used both in front and in reverse. A thermoplastic polyurethane film is placed in the middle of the tactile sensor for isolation. The experiments indicate that the peak power density of the TS-TENG can reach 42 mW/m2across an external resistance of 30 MΩ. Furthermore, the proposed TS-TENG can be used for material and fingerprint recognition by the two single-electrode units. The upper single-electrode unit contacts materials and generates different voltage signals due to the various electronegativities. Due to the generation of distinctive voltage signals under varying pressure levels, the lower single-electrode unit can be used to identify fingerprints. Finally, combined with the support vector machine algorithm, it shows high material and fingerprint identification accuracy. It can be seen that the proposed tactile sensor has good prospects in smart plants and smart security.