A chameleon-inspired stretchable electronic skin with interactive colour changing controlled by tactile sensing

TLDR

Animals like chameleons can change skin color, inspiring scientists to create materials that combine stretchability, color change, and tactile sensing. The study presents a solution‑processed, chameleon‑inspired stretchable e‑skin whose color is controllable by applied pressure magnitude and duration. It integrates a stretchable resistive pressure sensor with a fully stretchable organic electrochromic device to achieve tactile‑controlled color change. The color change allows pressure discrimination and suggests applications in wearables, prosthetics, and smart robots.

Abstract

Some animals, such as the chameleon and cephalopod, have the remarkable capability to change their skin colour. This unique characteristic has long inspired scientists to develop materials and devices to mimic such a function. However, it requires the complex integration of stretchability, colour-changing and tactile sensing. Here we show an all-solution processed chameleon-inspired stretchable electronic skin (e-skin), in which the e-skin colour can easily be controlled through varying the applied pressure along with the applied pressure duration. As such, the e-skin's colour change can also be in turn utilized to distinguish the pressure applied. The integration of the stretchable, highly tunable resistive pressure sensor and the fully stretchable organic electrochromic device enables the demonstration of a stretchable electrochromically active e-skin with tactile-sensing control. This system will have wide range applications such as interactive wearable devices, artificial prosthetics and smart robots.