A research team from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH), and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has developed a new class of large-area, flexible dielectric materials. These can be used as capacitive pressure sensors that are low-cost, sensitive, and suitable for healthcare, robotics, and wearable devices.
The findings were published in the IEEE Journal on Flexible Electronics. The study demonstrates how bubble-induced PDMS foam combined with conductive textile electrodes can be developed into reliable and scalable pressure sensors. According to the researchers, the sensors exhibited high repeatability, making them suitable for applications in human–machine interaction, surgical robotics, and tactile wearables.
“Our fabrication approach uses everyday materials like cotton textiles and polymer foam, still delivers performance comparable to state-of-the-art flexible sensors. The PDMS foam created in this study has far reaching applications beyond sensors, because it is an emerging class of materials that provides more stretchability and flexibility than the base polymer,” said Dr Aftab M. Hussain, Associate Professor at IIIT Hyderabad. “This opens up opportunities for affordable and customisable materials for healthcare and assistive technologies.”
The researchers also synthesised polypyrrole-coated conductive cotton textile to use as electrodes through a chemical oxidative process and combined them with bubble-trapped polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to build a compressible capacitive structure. The sensors displayed low hysteresis, repeatability, and rapid response.
To demonstrate practical applications, the team presented two use cases. In a smart computer interface, the sensor detected single and double mouse clicks. In a wearable glove, the sensor distinguished between objects of different weights, showing its potential in robotic grip control and biomedical feedback systems.
The study was partly supported by the PURSE grant from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.
Paper citation:
Saurabh B. Mishra, Nazek El-Atab, and Aftab M. Hussain, “Fabrication and Characterization of Large Area Flexible Capacitive Pressure Sensors using PDMS Foam and Functionalized Textile”, IEEE Journal on Flexible Electronics, 2025. DOI: 10.1109/JFLEX.2025.3612874