Wearable systems that incorporate soft tactile sensors that transmit spatio-temporal touch patterns may be useful in the development of biomedical robotics. Such systems have been employed for tasks such as typing and device operation, but their effectiveness in converting pressure patterns into specific control commands lags behind that of traditional finger-operated electronic devices. Here, we describe a tactile oral pad with a touch sensor array made from a carbon nanotube and silicone composite. The oral pad can be operated by moving either the tongue or teeth, and it can detect various strains so that it functions like a touchscreen. Combined with a recurrent neural network, we show that the oral pad can be used for typing, gaming and wheelchair navigation through cooperative control of tongue sliding (below 50 kPa pressure) and teeth clicking (above 500 kPa pressure).

包含传输时空触摸模式的软触觉传感器的可穿戴系统可能有助于生物医学机器人的开发。此类系统已用于打字和设备操作等任务，但其将压力模式转换为特定控制命令的效率落后于传统的手指操作电子设备。在这里，我们描述了一种带有由碳纳米管和有机硅复合材料制成的触摸传感器阵列的触觉口腔垫。口腔垫可以通过移动舌头或牙齿来操作，并且可以检测各种应变，因此它的功能就像触摸屏一样。结合循环神经网络，我们证明口腔垫可以通过舌头滑动（低于 50 kPa 压力）和牙齿点击（高于 500 kPa 压力）的协作控制来用于打字、游戏和轮椅导航。