001 Self Powre Sensing

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review
Wearable Sensors www.small-journal.com
Recent Progress of Self-Powered Sensing Systems

for Wearable Electronics
Zheng Lou, La Li, Lili Wang, and Guozhen Shen*
personalized healthcare.[6–10] With the fast

Wearable/flexible electronic sensing systems are considered to be one of development of electronic technologies,
the key technologies in the next generation of smart personal electronics. the population using smart sensors were
To realize personal portable devices with mobile electronics application, i.e., dramatically increased, which involve
wearable electronic sensors that can work sustainably and continuously smart electronics, smart watches, and
smartphones for the application in moni-
without an external power supply are highly desired. The recent progress and
toring personal health conditions and
advantages of wearable self-powered electronic sensing systems for mobile environmental changes everywhere in
or personal attachable health monitoring applications are presented. An real time with the wireless communica-
overview of various types of wearable electronic sensors, including flexible tion.[1,11] Different kinds of sensors (e.g.,
tactile sensors, wearable image sensor array, biological and chemical sensor, strain, pressure, and temperature sen-
temperature sensors, and multifunctional integrated sensing systems is sors), transmission modules, and self-
sustainable power supplies constitute
provided. Self-powered sensing systems with integrated energy units are then
the wearable sensor systems.[12–15] How-
discussed, separated as energy harvesting self-powered sensing systems, ever, current wearable sensors are still in
energy storage integrated sensing systems, and all-in-on integrated sensing its initial stage of development and face
systems. Finally, the future perspectives of self-powered sensing systems for huge challenges, such as multifunctional
wearable electronics are discussed. integration, adverse impacts on the envi-
ronment and stretchability from various
loading conditions. Further innovations
are needed for materials and devices with
1. Introduction the aims of unobtrusive, user-friendly communication, and in
real-time monitoring, etc.
Wearable electronic devices that can be comfortably and con- The ability of operating sustainably, independently, main-
formably attached to human body have attracted great research tenance-free and mechanical flexibility is of great significance
and industrial interests in recent years.[1–5] The wearable elec- for the sensor nodes when used as wearable sensing systems.
tronic devices possess a crucial promote in the recent develop- Undoubtedly, for the sensing and delivery processes, powers
ment of the “Internet of Things,” taking advantages of Internet are necessary for wearable sensors to receive and transmit
infrastructures to build a connection for the users with elec- signals. However, the current power units become one of
tronic devices and surrounding machines for wellness and the biggest limitations for the wearable sensor networks to
realize the aforementioned features because most of the cur-
rently used power systems are rigid batteries, which bring
out a series of problems, such as wearable form factors, fre-
Dr. Z. Lou, L. Li, Prof. G. Z. Shen
State Key Laboratory for Superlattices and Microstructures
quent charging, and replacement.[16–18] As more and more
Institute of Semiconductors sensors are required to be put in the places which are remote
Chinese Academy of Sciences and hard to access, the sensor nodes that can work self-pow-
Beijing 100083, China ered without external energy supplies become vital. In other
E-mail: gzshen@semi.ac.cn word, practical needs raise the increasing requirements for
Dr. L. L. Wang self-powered sensing systems.[19] In order to acquire and
State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics
College of Electronic Science and Engineering move signals in sensing and communion procedures, wear-
Jilin University able sensors need power covering the spectrum from micro-
Changchun 130012, P. R. China watts to milliwatts.[20] Therefore, adjustable power sources are
Prof. G. Z. Shen undoubtedly necessary for such wearable sensors that utilize
College of Materials Science and Opto-electronic Technology low energy. Energy harvesters taking fascinating situations as
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beijing 100029, China
foundation, like the piezoelectric and triboelectric effects for
gathering mechanical energy, the thermoelectric effects for
The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article
can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201701791. gathering thermal energy, and the photovoltaic effect for gath-
ering solar energy, have been widely investigated in the wear-
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201701791 able self-powered sensing systems.[21–24] In another aspect,
Small 2017, 13, 1701791 1701791 (1 of 27) © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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energy storage devices as significant as power harvesters in

terms of power technology allow us to make use of power to Zheng Lou is an assistant
operate sensing devices and structures. The two leading elec- professor in the Institute of
trochemical energy storage devices that have been utilized in Semiconductors, Chinese
wide range are lithium ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapaci- Academy of Sciences. He
tors (SCs). They both are essential for powering wearable elec- received her B.S. degree
tronics. LIBs in general meet the condition of high power (2009) and his Ph.D. degree
density (up to 180 Wh kg−1), while SCs are commonly utilized (2014) from Jilin University.
for high power density (>10 kW kg−1) and long cycling life His current research focuses
(>105 cycles) according the diverse operation procedures.[25,26] on flexible electronics based
As a proof-of-concept example, flexible sensor has been com- on low dimensional materials,
bined with energy-storage devices such as LIBs and SCs with including pressure sensors,
high flexibility.[27] electronic-skin, transistors,
Although substantial achievements in self-powered sensing and photodetectors.
systems have been acquired, particular challenges for actual uti-
lization continue to exist. Currently, for most self-powering sys- La Li received her B.S. degree
tems, the energy and power densities are still not good enough from the Jilin University in
for sustainable working of wearable devices, and extra innova- 2013. She is a Ph.D. candi-
tions are obviously required, such as designing new materials date at College of Physics,
and device structures to get sufficient energy, or utilizing the Jilin University, China. Her
high continuous power of several to tens of watts produced research interests mainly
by the corporeal movements of human body.[28–30] In addition, focus on flexible microsuper-
for the wearable systems attached on the human body, the low capacitors and self-powered
flexibility and conformability of the devices remain significant integrated devices.
challenges, which can be further improved by the novel design
of sensor structures, linked stretchability, and combined cir-
cuit systems.[20,31] More importantly, the growth of adjustable
energy management circuits is also crucially in need of efficient
Guozhen Shen received
management and transference from the produced energy to
his B.S. degree (1999) in
the active components with smallest power loss. Therefore, the
Chemistry from Anhui
convergence of energy storage, energy harvesters, and wearable
Normal University and Ph.D.
sensors is a cutting-edge subject that offers significant poten-
degree (2003) in Chemistry
tial for self-powered sensing platform with improved proper-
from University of Science
ties, especially in the context of wearable and flexible sensors
and Technology of China.
(Figure 1).[16,32–41]
He joined the Institute of
In this review, we summarized the recent achievements
Semiconductors, Chinese
and future developments of wearable self-powered sensing
Academy of Sciences as a
systems in a light of their promise in the areas of human–
professor in 2013. His current
machine interfaces, personalized healthcare, and so on. First,
research focused on flexible
a brief discussion is made together with the functionality of
electronics and printable electronics, including transistors,
different kinds of wearable system namely, flexible physical
photodetectors, sensors, and flexible energy storage and
sensors, biological and chemical sensors, and multifunctional
conversion devices.
integrated sensors. There are several other reviews focusing
on the synthesis and assembly of wearable energy harvesting
and energy storage. However, in this article, we try to focus
on the use of energy sources to form self-powered sensing 2. Wearable Sensor Applications
systems, thus we will not provide detailed discussions on
wearable energy devices. We only analyze diverse adjust- 2.1. Physical Sensors
able power harvesters utilizing in self-powered systems, like
mechanical energy, thermal energy, and solar energy, classi- 2.1.1. Tactile Sensors
fied by their working procedures, such as the piezoelectric,
triboelectric, thermoelectric, and photovoltage effects. And the Tactile sensors, which are mostly known as pressure and strain
power storing units of the wearable systems including flex- sensors, can collect data on the mechanical properties of the
ible LIBs and SCs are also presented very briefly. Following surroundings and the human body, which have great potential
these parts, the developments of the all-in-one self-powering applications in artificial intelligence systems and human physi-
system include three concepts of sensors, energy harvesting, ological health monitoring. Very recently, different types of flex-
and energy storing are discussed in detail. Finally, the future ible and stretchable tactile sensors with different mechanisms
development and problems of wearable self-powered sensing to respond external change have been reported, such as pie-
system are summarized. zoresistive, piezoelectric, and capacitive type.[42–45] In this part,
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Figure 1. Wearable sensors (electronic skin, gas sensors, photodetectors, etc.) integrated with the energy sources (energy harvesting, energy storage)
to forming the wearable self-powered sensing systems is vital for broadening application of wearable electronics. The energy source devices reproduced
with permission.[16,32–41] Copyright 2015, Elsevier. Copyright 2013, American Chemical Society. Copyright 2014, Nature Published Group. Copyright
2016, Wiley-VCH. Copyright 2011, American Association for the Advancement of Science. Copyright 2014, Nature Published Group. Copyright 2014,
Springer. Copyright 2017, Elsevier. Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society.
we will cover the recent progress of the tactile sensors through et al. reported a plasma-doping graphene sheet-based flexible
their different transduction principles. pressure sensor with typical piezoresistive effects.[64] Compared
Piezoresistive Sensors: In general, tactile sensors based on to the untreated graphene sheet, plasma-doping gives a further
piezoresistive effect lead to the changes in the conductivity enhancement of the pressure sensing performance in low-pres-
signal when an external force is applied. Due to their low power sure regimes (<10 kPa).
consumption (a few microwatts), broad test range of pressure, However, most of the piezoresistive-type sensors with com-
easy read-out, and simple device structure and fabrication posite elastomer are based on planar structure, which usually
process, piezoresistive-type tactile sensors have been widely exhibit poor sensing performance and cannot sense in low-
studied, which hold great promise for realizing the practical pressure regimes. Hence, some sensing materials with finely
applications of human–machine interfaces and electronic skin tuned structures like 3D networks, porous structures, and the
(e-skin).[46–51] The pressure sensor with great sensitivity, which utilization of patterned microstructures, etc. are studied in
is made of extremely thin gold nanowires (NWs), can be cited depth to provide alternatives.[62,65,66] A scalable resistive e-skin
as a typical example. As gold nanowires are highly conductive, sensor using interlocked microdome arrays was recently pro-
the device can be sufficiently actuated by a low voltage of 1.5 V. posed by Ko and co-workers.[67] By engaging two composite
What is more, the pressure on the contact surface completely films of microdome-patterned CNTs with the patterned sides
determines the device’s resistance, in the way that if there is no contacting each other, sensors with the interlocked geom-
pressure there will be high resistance of the sensor. With the etry were fabricated as depicted in Figure 2a. The sensitive
working voltage being low and the resistance being high, the mechanism of the sensors was discussed in detail, which can
consumption of energy will be lower than 30 µW.[52] Besides, be explained by the variation of the contact area between the
many different kinds of materials have been investigated to change of microdomes and the tensile ratio under external
develop high- performance piezoresistive sensors over the past pressure. Hence, the as-fabricated device can distinguish dif-
several decades. Usually, piezoresistive sensing materials are ferent mechanical stimuli to provide different sensory output
mostly concentrated in the elastomer composites with incorpo- modes, since the arrays show varying degrees of deformation
rated conductive fillers such as conductive polymers (CPs),[42] depending on the direction of the external pressure. Compared
metal particles,[53] carbon nanotubes (CNTs),[54] and reduced with the planar composite films, the device with patterned
graphene oxide (rGO) into elastomers (e.g., polyurethane (PU) microstructures shows three to four times faster response
and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)).[55] Most recently, some con- (≈18 ms) and recovery times (≈10 ms), respectively (Figure 2b).
ductive fibers with unique properties like biocompatibility, and Such excellent pressure sensing performance can measure the
superhydrophobic, and thin films are also served as sensing blood pressure in people with different wrist movements, which
materials for piezoresistive sensors.[56–63] For example, Haniff can be used to monitor the human physiological signals in real
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Figure 2. a) Schematic and FESEM of human skin structure showing interlocked epidermal. b) The response and relaxation times of planar films (red)
and interlocked microdome arrays (black). Reproduced with permission.[67] Copyright 2014, American Chemical Society. c) The structure diagram and
digital photo of the haptic memory device. d) The memory function of the integrated devices. Reproduced with permission.[69] Copyright 2016,
Wiley-VCH. e) FESEM images of sunflower pollen microcapsules and composite films. f) Photograph of a human hand on top of the sensor array and
its local pressure distribution. Reproduced with permission.[76] Copyright 2017, Elsevier.
time. By introducing nearly the same sensing mechanism and irregular patterns, the pressure sensor showed excellent per-
device structure, micropyramid PDMS arrays with a conductive formance. Lou et al. reported a uniform freestanding film of
elastomeric composite on it were successfully synthesized to 3D PVDF@rGO networks, which was sandwiched between two
develop highly stretchable resistive pressure sensors.[68] Chen PDMS films with the electrodes at each side to develop a smart
and co-workers investigated another kind of skin-inspired pres- flexible pressure sensor.[71] The sensitivity (S) of the pressure
sure sensor based on PDMS microstructures.[69] In their work, sensor is defined as S = (ΔI/I0)/ΔP, where I0, ΔI, and ΔP are
resistive switching memory devices were integrated with the corresponding to the initial current, the change of current and
resistive pressure sensors as haptic memory devices in order to the change of the applied pressure, respectively. As-fabricated
detect and maintain a sense of touch to imitate human sensory device displayed a very low detection limit for pressure stimuli
memory (Figure 2c). Such haptic memory device can be electri- (1.2 Pa), high sensitivity (15.6 kPa−1), excellent stability, and
cally programmed to change the resistance of the tactile sensor ultrafast response time (<5 ms). It provides the capability of
in response to applied force to “write” the pressure information monitoring human activity such as the muscle movement and
in the storage device. Furthermore, the pressure distribution wrist pulse with a great potential in applications for voice recog-
information can be easily stored and erased in the device arrays nition and disease diagnosis.
to allow multicycle usage (Figure 2d). This study provides a To improve the sensitivity of the piezoresistive pressure sen-
new perspective for wearable sensors to simulate human sensa- sors, another way besides the formation of patterned micro-
tions, such as auditory and visual memory. structures is to utilize the active materials with hollow-sphere,
An obvious drawback for the above work is that the fabri- foams, sponges, or conductive porous structures.[72–74] Recently,
cation of surface microstructures depended on a patterned Bao and co-workers introduced a new material design concept
Si mold, which makes the progress complex with high cost, to construct an ultrasensitive resistive pressure sensor, which
poor reproducibility, and multiple steps. A simple and low- were realized by using elastic microstructured conducting poly-
cost way for the formation of uniformly microstructured pat- mers.[75] Similar devices were also fabricated by Wang et al.[76]
terns without the etching technology was recently developed They reported the development of a highly sensitive wearable
by Su et al.[70] Interestingly, they used the mimosa leaves as e-skin sensor based on incorporated natural, elastic micro-
a mold to fabricate a PDMS microstructure. Based on these capsules within biomimetic architectures (Figure 2e). The
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device can discriminate between multiple spatiotemporal tac- speed (0.1 ms), high stability, and low hysteresis. Figure 3b
tile stimuli under both static and dynamic pressure states and shows that the as-fabricated device can be softly laminated on
shows a very low detection limit (1.6 Pa). They also fabricated a the throat, wrist, and neck to analyze the human blood pressure
flexible 12 × 8 pixel sensor array with 18 × 12 cm2 in size with (about 4 Pa for P1). More importantly, the sensing performance
an integrated 3D rubber composite film on a microstructured of the device was not changed even stretching at 30%, which is
PDMS substrate. Pressure changes in the contact region can be very important for wearable application.
mapped by recording the relative current changes, as a human Although inorganic materials have lower flexibility compared
hand was loaded on top of the sensor array (Figure 2f). They to the organic counterparts, many inorganic materials showed
explained that the large resistance changes are attributed to the good mechanical flexibility in the form of NWs or ultrathin
tunable effective elastic modulus of the hollow spheres. films.[89,90] Thus, inorganic piezoelectric materials like GaAs,
The problem of hysteresis arises in all piezoresistive sensors In2O3, ZnO, etc. were also studied for flexible pressure sensing
due to the viscoelasticity of polymers, which comes from the devices.[91–93] Mechanical flexible polymers or other suitable
fact that the elastic matrix can easily creep or the conductor/ substrates are often used to assemble these fragility crystalline
polymer interface can irreversibly deteriorate. There are sev- materials into tactile sensors. A series of pressure sensors, and
eral near-future solutions to this problem that have been taken piezotronic devices have been designed and fabricated based on
into account: (a) It is desirable to make the bonding between piezoelectric ZnO by Wang and co-workers.[94] As an example,
the filler and the polymer strong enough to enhance the hys- a 3D strain gated piezoelectric FET was demonstrated by
teresis performance. (b) It is preferable to make the polymer bridging vertically grown ZnO NWs across two ohmic contact
with low viscoelasticity so that the performance can be reliable source and drain electrodes (Figure 3c). In addition, a multidi-
and stable. (c) In most cases, improving the interfacial binding mensional and high-resolution tactile imaging was successfully
between the sensing element and the polymer substrate/matrix developed by integrating these 3D transistors into a 92 × 92
often leads to a quick response, enhanced hysteresis and cyclic array with an area density of 8464 cm2. These salient features
performance. (d) Microchannel network embedded in the elas- as well as the ability to generate electricity during the deforma-
tomeric polymer matrix full of a fluid such as liquid metals and tion of the device allow for a variety of potential applications in
ionic solution has a super-high stretchability without consider- micromechanical components that are self-powered.
able hysteresis.[77,78] Capacitive Sensors: Flexible capacitive sensor is another type
Piezoelectric Sensors: Piezoelectricity is a term used to explain of pressure sensor for wearable electronics. The capacitor con-
materials with anisotropic structures that generate an electrical sists of two conductive plates separated by dielectric material.[95]
potential in response to applied mechanical stimuli due to the The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor can be defined as
electric dipole moments. As is well-known, dynamic measure- that C = ε0εrA/d, where ε0, εr, A, and d are the electric constant,
ment needs a sensor to achieve transient sensing capabilities the relative static permittivity of the dielectric, the area of the
and high sensitivity with the typical frequency range between overlap of the two plates, and the thickness of the dielectric,
10 Hz and 50 kHz.[79,80] Therefore, piezoelectric sensors with respectively. Any chemical or physical stimulus that can cause
the impressive characteristics of self-power ability and low changes in physical size or dielectric constant are a measurable
power consumption have a superiority to detect the high fre- variety in capacitance. Using as the tactile sensors, the external
quency of pressure. In order to satisfy the requirements of pressure usually results in the displacement of elastic material
dynamic tactile sensor for wearable electronics, some piezo- with changed A to respond shear forces, d to respond normal
electric materials have been widely studied to replace com- forces, and both to respond strain. A low mechanical modulus
mercially brittle ceramics and quartz, include P(VDF-TrFE), for the elastomeric materials is needed to achieve high mechan-
zirconate titanate (PZT), BaTiO3, PbTiO3, and ZnO etc.[81–86] ical sensitivity. Hence, for the dielectric layer, some elastomeric
With the chemical inertness, simple processing technology and dielectrics with small modulus are the ideal materials, such as
comparative piezoelectric coefficiency, flexible P(VDF-TrFE) is PU, Ecoflex, and PDMS.[96–99]
one of the most promising piezoelectric materials. Till now, a PDMS with small modulus is commonly used for wearable
great deal of P(VDF-TrFE) film-based flexible pressure sensors capacitive tactile sensors. Highly sensitive capacitor-type sen-
have been developed.[87] For instance, Persano et al. developed sors based on simple PDMS as the dielectric with CNTs or
an independently P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers array of by using the PEDOT: PSS as electrodes have been widely reported.[95,100,101]
electrospinning method.[83] With this array, they fabricated flex- For example, a flexible capacitive-type tactile sensor based on
ible piezoelectric pressure sensor with a high response to the hierarchically designed elastic CNT fabrics that combine ten-
applied force and could detect a very low pressure of 0.1 Pa. sile elastomer with good dielectric properties on PDMS was
The above results showed that P(VDF-TrFE)-based device reported.[102,103] However, for the unstructured elastomeric
had a great potential application in wearable electronics. But dielectric, it has high viscoelasticity and low compressibility,
for P(VDF-TrFE), it is usually hard to separate the piezoelectric resulting in slow response/recovery time and low sensitivity
effect from the pyroelectric effect, leading to a thermal inter- for the capacitive pressure sensors.[104] In order to solve the
ference to the device. To avoid body temperature interference, problems, design dielectric material with desired structures
Dagdeviren et al. built a lead PZT-based MOSFET pressure such as air-embedded microstructures is an important way,
sensor array with lightweight, stretchable, and ultrathin for which can directly improve the sensitivity of the device. Studies
monitoring human blood pressure, as shown in Figure 3a.[88] found that, compared with the bulk one, air contained elas-
The wearable piezoelectric sensors exhibited excellent sensing tomer exhibited a better response speed due to the reduction
performance with low detection limit (0.005 Pa), fast response of viscoelastic effect. An unprecedented sensitivity of 192 kPa−1
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Figure 3. a) Illustration of the device, which includes a square array of piezoelectric thin-film transducers based on thin films of PZT. b) Blood pressure
wave measurements where the device attached on the throat, neck, and wrist of the human body. Reproduced with permission.[88] Copyright 2014,
Nature Publishing Group. c) The structure diagram of the 3D strain gated piezoelectric FET sensor array and the equivalent circuit. Reproduced with
permission.[94] Copyright 2013, AAAS.
of the flexible pressure sensor with pure air as the dielectric sensitively to human’s fingers and is able to detect the dis-
layer was fabricated by Di and co-workers (Figure 4a).[105] The tance of objects when compared with the former.[107] In recent
as-fabricated device showed a short response time of 10 ms, years, flexible capacitive microsensors have been achieved
low pressure detection limit of 0.5 Pa, and ultra-low power con- by designing and fabricating metal interdigitated electrodes
sumption (<100 nW) (Figure 4b). on polymer matrixes. Nevertheless, there could be failures
Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) that are often used resulting from the occurrences of division and delamination
as an amplifier to improve sensitivity can combine with the because sometimes the metal is not strongly adhesive to
capacitive mechanism to develop ultrasensitive wearable tactile polymer and the thin film process could also pose limitations
sensors. Bao and co-workers introduced a high- performance on the height of electrode. In order to solve this problem, Fang
capacitance force sensor by using microstructured PDMS as the and co-workers come up with a brief molding process, which
gate dielectric layer of an OFET, as shown in Figure 4c.[106] The serves for the purpose of achieving a capacitive flexible sensor
signal amplification of OFET leads to a low power consump- with 3D CNT interdigitated finger electrodes.[108] According
tion (<1 mW) and a high sensitivity (8.4 kPa−1) (Figure 4d). The to their research, further improvement in the design of the
results indicated that the flexible OFET pressure sensors with silicon mold was made, which was to combine CNT inter-
the advantages of low-cost fabrication and large area have a digitated electrodes with 3D polymer diaphragms and sup-
great potential applications in wearable tactile sensors. To lower porters. The as-fabricated high finger electrodes were able
the working voltage is crucial to decrease the consumption of to enlarge the area that senses capacitance with more initial
power. However, a majority of the reported sensors, which are sensitivity and capacitance. Such sensor was capable of
made of OFETs, work at a voltage higher than 60 V. Hence, detecting the distance of objects that are about 2 mm away
OFETs working at a low voltage under flexible pressures can be from it. In another study, Kanaparthi and Badhulika proposed
considered as an approach to extremely lower the consumption a paper-based interdigitated capacitive sensor.[109] Whether
of energy. the sensor is durable, stable, and flexible or not was tested
Apart from parallel plate capacitive sensors, interdigitated through folding, bending, and multiple finger touches,
capacitive sensors have been widely proved to be attractive sen- and the result is that there was no functionality lost. This
sors in the wearable platform because the latter reacts more method offers us a chance, by using fewer material resources,
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Figure 4. a) A suspended gate organic thin-film transistor-based array and its pressure-sensing process. b) Pressure sensitivity of the flexible pressure
sensor. Reproduced with permission.[105] Copyright 2015, Nature Publishing Group. c) Schematic diagram of the fabrication procedures of the OFET
pressure sensor. d) The relative current change and sensitivity of a transistor at different transistor source–gate voltages and source–drain voltages.
Reproduced with permission.[106] Copyright 2013, Nature Publishing Group.
to produce green electronics that are economical, sustainable, substrates to fabricate flexible image sensors with excellent
and friendly to ecology. photosensitivity. A flexible 21 × 21 pixel image sensor was
then fabricated on a flexible PET substrate. The letters (such
as “e”) can be clearly presented with the flexible image sensor
2.1.2. Image Sensor Arrays even under different bending conditions (Figure 5b). Flexible
image sensors with higher resolution were subsequently fab-
Image sensors are extensively applied to digital camera, ricated by Fan and co-workers.[122] The proof-of-concept image
industry, and defense. For example, the robot can possess sensors made of 3D vertical MAPbI3 NWs consisted of 1024
visual sense with image sensing arrays implanted in robotic photodiode pixels, as shown in Figure 5c. The image sensors
eyes. While flexible image sensors are significant functional can also verify the projection recognition of various optical pat-
units for flexible optoelectronic devices and systems, which terns placed on it. With higher resolution, the image sensors
cannot be achieved for the existing rigid silicon-based image can even recognize a heart-like symbol of heart and the char-
sensors due to the incompatible with flexible substrate and acter “H,” demonstrating the reliable imaging capability of the
low light absorption.[110–112] With great durability and flexibility, sensors (Figure 5d). Notably, large active areas and high pixel
high-performance flexible photodetectors played important density enable the sensors to reconstruct images without any
roles for wearable image sensors. Recently, organic–inorganic mechanical movement. In addition, the sensor has the ability to
hybrid perovskite materials were introduced into optoelec- response to dynamic light input at a reasonable speed.
tronic devices due to their highly attractive optical and electrical Device stability is a big concern for organic–inorganic hybrid
characteristics, including CH3NH3PbI3, MAPbBr3, etc.[113–117] perovskite-based photodetectors due to the loss of CH3NH3X
Particularly, compared with polycrystalline Si, by varying the under ambient conditions. With excellent electronic and optoe-
compositions, hybrid perovskite materials with tuned energy lectronic properties and excellent stability, inorganic nanowires
bandgaps have longer carrier life-time and higher optical provide alternatives besides the organic-inorganic perovskite. Li
absorption coefficient. Several groups have developed wearable et al. recently fabricated flexible ultraviolet photodetectors with
image sensor arrays based on perovskite nanostructures.[118–121] ZnO quantum dots decorated Zn2SnO4 nanowires.[123] Because
For example, Jie and co-workers reported a simple and low- of the incorporation of ZnO quantum dots, as-fabricated flexible
cost blade coating method to synthesize highly crystalline photodetectors showed ultrahigh light-to-dark ratio of 6.8 × 104,
compact CH3NH3PbI3 microwire (MW) arrays in large areas specific detectivity, fast rise time (47 ms) and great stability.
(Figure 5a).[113] The photodetectors based on the CH3NH3PbI3 The physics modeling was generated to explain the enhancing
MW arrays exhibited high responsivity and detectivity with a effect, as illustrated in Figure 5e. The first factor is the separa-
ultrafast response speed of 80 µs, which is much faster than tion of electron–hole pairs at the interfaces Zn2SnO4 and ZnO
that of the human eyes (≈42 ms). More importantly, this quantum dots. And the other is that an electron-rich region
method enables MWs to be successfully transferred to flexible can be formed in the region close to ZnO QDs and a hole rich
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Figure 5. a) Schematic of the one-step coating method for the synthesized of CH3NH3PbI3 MW arrays. b) Intensity profiles tested by mapping the
pixel signals under various bending states. Reproduced with permission.[113] Copyright 2016, Wiley-VCH. c) Optical image printing image sensing array
circuit board. d) Original and imaged letter and pattern. Reproduced with permission.[122] Copyright 2016, Wiley-VCH. e) Physical modeling of the
as-fabricated flexible photodetectors. Reproduced with permission.[123] Copyright 2016, American Chemical Society.
region is formed at center of Zn2SnO4, which can reduce the 2.2. Biological and Chemical Sensor
recombination in these regions. Thus, more photogenerated
carriers can be collected by electrodes. A 10 × 10 flexible sensor 2.2.1. Biosensors
array was then fabricated with the ZnO quantum dots decorated
Zn2SnO4 nanowire-based photodetectors as the sensing pixels, With the potential applications in disease diagnosis and per-
which can efficiently detect projects like the letters of “E” and sonal healthcare, wearable biosensors have been extensively
“F” under ultraviolet light illuminations. However, there are applied to detect different kinds of biological indexes, such
also some issues need to be addressed. For wearable imaging as pH levels, cells, organic molecules, DNA proteins, and so
applications based on photodetector arrays, the response speed on.[124–127] Compared with the conventional biosensors, wear-
should be further increased, which may be accomplished by able biosensors have some special advantages, such as implant-
shortening the device channel length or introducing a junc- able, noninvasive, light weight, and ultraconformable. Such
tion structure in the device. Moreover, the spectral expansion of devices can closely and continuously monitor the biochemical
the flexible photodetector is very important for fabricating the and electrochemical signals, human generated electronic and
wearable infrared image sensing array. physiological biomarkers by attaching to the tissue surface,
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Figure 6. a) Schematic diagram of a liquid-ion gated FET using graphene conjugated with aptamer. b) The photo picture of the flexible device. c) Real-
time responses of the aptasensor with different Hg2 concentrations. Reproduced with permission.[135] Copyright 2013, American Chemical Society.
d) A design of flexible biosensor based on graphene-functionalized microcapsules as sensing elements. e) Kinetic monitoring of PSA binding to rGO@
SFP-based biosensor with immobilized anti-PSA antibodies. Reproduced with permission.[136] Copyright 2016, Wiley-VCH.
without individual and interruption activities.[128–133] With the FET-based biosensor provides more opportunities for wearable
development of wearable biosensors, FET-based biosensors monitoring device.
have become one of the most attractive biological electronic
options because they facilitate fast electronic detection times
and have very low power consumption without labels.[134] 2.2.2. Electrophysiological Sensors
Jang and co-workers developed a flexible liquid ion-gated
FET-type graphene biosensor which can detect mercury (Hg) Electrophysiological sensors, which are able to continuously
(Figure 6a,b).[135] The as-fabricated devices had a high sensi- monitor human physiological signals, have significant effect
tivity and fast response speed (<1 s) due to its high electrical on diagnosing, managing, preventing and postoperatively
conductivity and carrier mobility. More importantly, the high- treating cardiovascular diseases, such as electrocardiogram
light of this study is that even in the real complex sample solu- (ECG), electromyography (EMG), as well as electroencepha-
tions, the flexible graphene-based sensor could specifically lography (EEG).[140] Enormous interest in homecare has arisen
discriminate and detect Hg2+ (Figure 6c). Although the defect- because hospital-centered care costs too much and long-term
free graphene has excellent conductivity with a significant recording is helpful, which can be achieved by developing wear-
increase in detection sensitivity, it can only be used to detect able devices and wireless communications. In order to meet the
analyte concentrations higher than the PM level (10 × 10−12 m). need for wearable devices with long-period monitoring, much
Therefore, effective methods to decrease the detection limit attention has been focused on nanomaterials which serve as
are in high demand. A hierarchical 3D rGO-coated sunflower components of flexible/stretchable conductors and are hence
pollen (SFP) particles is introduced on a flexible substrate to considered as desirable materials for wearable electrophysi-
achieve the low detection limit of prostate specific antigen ological sensing.[141] Imani et al. recently introduced a wearable
(PSA), which can be always used to diagnose prostate cancer equipment with which the chemical and electrophysiological
among males (Figure 6d,e).[136] In addition to graphene-based form factor of one same epidermal patch can be measured at
biosensor, metal oxide semiconductor-based devices also com- the same time (as shown in Figure 7a,b).[142] The new Chem–
prise the electrodes for electrical output, such as Ga2O3, ZnO, Phys mixed wearable patch is able to present a full-scale view of
TiO2, In2O3 etc.[137,138] As the active layer encounters target one’s physical condition compared with existing wearable health
analytes, the conductivity of the device will be increased or monitors because it is so powerful that it can monitor electro-
decreased. Recently, a conformal FET biosensor based on physiological and physicochemical properties at the same time
ultrathin In2O3 printing PI films was fabricated.[139] Flexibility through its combination of an electrocardiogram sensor with
of the substrate and ultrathin In2O3 films can make the device a lactate biosensor. As shown in Figure 7b, through the wear-
and complex curvilinear surfaces have a highly conformal con- able sensor that monitors the epidermal on human body in a
tact. They also claimed that their In2O3-based biosensor with real-life fitness environment, it can be demonstrated that the
high sensitivity and selectivity can be integrated into artificial electrocardiogram sensing is in accordance with current wear-
eyes to monitor the glucose in tears. The above conformal able devices and measuring lactate through constant-potential
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Figure 7. a) The image of the wearable wireless sensors with the new Chem–Phys hybrid patch. b) Schematic of the detection reaction and the wire-
less readout circuit. Reproduced with permission.[142] Copyright 2016, Nature Publication Group. c) Schematic illustration of a flexible graphene neural
electrode array. d) The photograph of a single-graphene electrode placed on the cortical surface of the left hemisphere. Reproduced with permission.[36]
Copyright 2014, Nature Publication Group.
amperometry at the same time has no adverse effect on it. 2.2.3. Gas Sensors
This research represents the very first key step in studying and
developing wearable sensors in multiple modes with a combi- With the severe environmental problems, gas sensors that can
nation of physical, chemical, and electrophysiological sensors monitor and control air pollutants have attracted the attention
in order to monitor one’s physical condition in a more compre- of many researchers all over the world. Lowering the power
hensive way. consumption, which is very interesting in view of the specific
Kuzum et al. have reported a neural electrode technology case for gas sensors, may be accomplished by using flexible
with great transparency and sensitivity on the basis of graphene, microhotplate substrates.[144–147] The flexibility or stretchability
which is able to make the electrophysiological recording and of all the gas sensing systems including necessary circuitry and
the optical imaging occurring on flexible polyimide (Kapton) active materials and the elimination of high temperature steps
substrates at the same time as shown in Figure 7c,d.[36] The during the device preparation process are the crucial challenges
author proved that transparent graphene electrodes are able to for flexible gas sensors. In recent years, various kinds of flex-
form the image of hippocampal slices through two photon as ible gas sensors based on graphene, CNTs, and metal oxide
well as confocal microscopy and the light will induce no arti- nanowires have been reported.[4,9–11,148–150] An example is the
facts in electrical recordings. In another study, nanowire FETs flexible gas sensors fabricated with ink-jet-printed CNTs on cel-
(NWFETs) chips with great transparency and flexibility were lulosic substrates by Manohar and co-workers.[151] The sensors
designed on thin polymer matrix and were connected with displayed robustness and excellent selectivity for detection of
the beating hearts of embryonic chicken.[143] NWFETs chips aggressive vapor (Cl2 and NO2). However, the response time
are able to cause optical imaging and electronic recording to (5 min) is too sluggish to hinder their practical real-time detec-
occur at the same time in configurations that can hardly be tive applications. For most of the flexible gas sensors operating
accessed by traditional planar chips. The fact that the NWFET/ at room temperature, the response and recovery time is consid-
heart can be easily checked through microscope can be proved ered to be a vital limiting factor to prevent their real application
by a curved device chip with the concave side facing a beating in wearable electronics. Hence, a flexible gas sensor based on
heart. With the heart interfaced with the device on the convex PbS colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) with improved response
side of the curved chip, it is possible to record the entire heart speed was designed by Tang and co-workers.[152] The highly
in a convex configuration. The remarkable SNR signal, which sensitive devices that serve as room-temperature gas sensor can
reflects a natural heart beating, is indicative of a sharp peak at achieve a fast response (14 s) and excellent mechanical flexible
the beginning stage with a slower one following behind. The (Figure 8a,b). They found that the desirable binding energy of
occurrences of the two stages result, respectively, from tran- NO2 with PbS CQDs and the efficient access of gas molecules
sient ion channel currents and mechanical movements. to the surfaces of CQD realized by surface ligand removal
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Figure 8. a) Response properties of the flexible gas sensor to NO2 of various concentrations. b) The mechanical stability of the sensor under different
bending conditions. c) Projected DOS for NO2 binding to a PbS CQD surface. Reproduced with permission.[152] Copyright 2014, Wiley-VCH. d) A
breath diagnostic array based on the wearable gas sensors. Reproduced with permission.[153] Copyright 2015, American Chemical Society. e) Schematic
illustration of the conjugation of materials based on the self-assembly of CS on graphene oxide. f) Photograph of a proof-of-concept wearable sensor
attaching on the wrist. g) Real-time sensor response to a pulsated ejection of simulated diabetic breath containing 2 ppm of acetone vapor. Reproduced
with permission.[154] Copyright 2017, Royal Society of Chemistry publishing.
(Figure 8c) were the key factors that are responsible for excel- to monitor diabetes-related acetone vapors in real-time
lent sensitive and rapid detection to NO2. (Figure 8f,g). In addition, the humidity has neglectable effect
Very recently, chemical gas sensors were geared toward non- on the acetone sensing performance, which is very advanta-
invasive and safe screening diagnosis, and follow-up of disease geous for the acetone detecting from the exhaled breath. For
conditions depends on detecting volatile organic compounds gas sensors, the low working voltage and energy consumption
(VOCs) in exhaled breath. A breath diagnostic array based on make them ideal candidates for wearable electronic system.
flexible gold nanoparticles was engineered by Haick and co-
workers.[153] The device, as an effective platform for examining
the breath VOCs applied to the diagnosis of ovarian cancer, 2.2.4. Temperature Sensors
was conducted on real breath samples that were collected from
43 volunteers with ovarian cancer or control subjects (Figure 8d). Temperature is an important sensed contact parameter for
It further proved that the ability of wearable sensor array meth- monitoring environment and tactile behavior. Generally, var-
odology to identify other diseases by analyzing collected breath ious temperature objects can be distinguished by human skin.
can be also targeted. Benefitting from the excellent characteris- However, precision thermometry of skin for various objects is
tics such as remarkable mechanical properties, facile chemical not possible due to it yet can measure changes in temperature
functionalization, and satisfactory in situ tailoring of chemical of 0.02 °C. Thus, a wearable temperature sensor can be used to
composition of the natural polysaccharide polymer, Wang et al. improve the precision of temperature detection for healthcare
reported a streamlined strategy exploited for unique surface and medical applications.[155–157] In fact, many types of wearable
topography of natural butterfly wing into multifunctional bio- temperature sensors using composite materials, diodes, or
material templating and added functional features of graphene metal layer patterned on flexible substrates have been applied
(Figure 8e).[154] Because of the low detection limit of 20 ppb in flexible electronic applications.[156,158] However, many chal-
and ultrafast response speed of 1 s, a proof-of-concept wrist lenges still remain for the wearable temperature sensing
band integrated into the as-synthesized material was employed application: (1) interferences form the external environment,
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Figure 9. a) Schematic of the transparent and stretchable (TS) gated temperature sensor. b) Illustration of the stretchable behavior of the device during
twisted. c) Simultaneous monitoring of neck skin temperature for muscle movement and drinking hot water. d) IR thermograms of the neck before
and after drinking hot water. Reproduced with permission.[164] Copyright 2015, Wiley-VCH.
such as various gases, different humidity and light, (2) accu- patients, disease diagnosis, preventive medicine, and elderly
rate and stable detection of temperature under human motion, care.[165–167] Thus, wearable sensors should process the ability
and (3) achievement of high-resolution temperature distri- not only to detect the single sensing signal, but also to measure
bution using sensor array. To realize the above three require- multiple signals simultaneously.[168–170] Ko and co-workers
ments, sensors are at least needed to be realized on a flexible/ reported an multifunctional e-skin with integrated thermal and
stretchable substrate as an essential or constituent element in pressure sensors, which was used to investigate the relation-
practical healthcare and medical applications.[159–163] Lee and ship between temperature dependent variation and the pulse
co-workers developed a stretchable and transparent tempera- pressure from wrist artery.[171] They found that with an increase
ture sensor that can be easily attached to human skin or objects in body temperature, the pulse and reflected wave pressure
(Figure 9a,b).[164] Owing to the highly stretchable substrate, (P1, P2, and P3) decreased. The simultaneous monitoring of
this flexible temperature sensor exhibited superior mechanical body temperature and wrist pulse pressure offers an intelligent
property (stretching up to the strain of 70%) and ultrahigh- way to establish blood pressure by accounting the individual’s
sensitivity (relative resistance change) of about 1.34% °C−1. The temperature of skin. Someya and co-workers also designed a
TS-resistive and TS-gated temperature sensor array obtained flexible, conformable, large-area network of integrated organic
a high-resolution temperature distribution for recognition of semiconductor-based pressure and thermal sensors.[172] The
human activity, which showed great potential for application to pressure and thermal sensor network were constructed sepa-
wearable temperature sensors (Figure 9c,d). What is more, it is rately and each organic transistor was then connected to each
also needed to integrate such functionalities as biodegradability, thermal and pressure sensor unit, respectively.
biocompatibility, conformability, and transparency with stretch- Some other integrated sensors with multiple functionalities
able and flexible temperature sensors used to detect the surface were also reported besides sensor systems with integrated pres-
temperature of people’s organs and skin. It should be men- sure and temperature sensors. Kim et al. developed a graphene-
tioned that it is also needed to integrate such functionalities as based wearable electrochemical device for feedback therapy
biodegradability, biocompatibility, conformability, and transpar- and diabetes monitoring (Figure 10a).[173] The device was con-
ency with stretchable and flexible temperature sensors used to stituted of pH, glucose, temperature, and humidity sensors. It
detect the surface temperature of people’s organs and skin. also involves a therapy system that is composed of polymeric
microneedles and a heater, to deliver drugs transcutaneously
by thermally activating. The large-area stretchable device con-
2.3. Multifunctional Integrating Sensing Systems sists of a bilayer of gold mesh and gold-doped graphene with
mechanical reliability and high electrical conductivity, pro-
Wearable sensors play an essential role in human–machine viding the major electrochemical interface for the stable elec-
interfaces, personal healthcare, and human-activity monitoring, trical signal transfer. The sensor for detecting multiple stimuli
which are conformal attached to the human body and can record is produced by selective functionalization of the gold-doped
human activity by long-term continuous signals. The acute graphene with soft materials and electrochemically active,
physical responses can be applied to prognostic monitoring of which improves the biochemical sensitivity and electrochemical
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Figure 10. a) Schematic representation of the diabetes patch with various functional components such as sweat-control, sensing, and therapy systems.
Reproduced with permission.[173] Copyright 2016, Nature Publish Group. b) Photograph of a wearable FISA on a subject’s wrist, integrating the multi-
plexed sweat sensor array and the wireless FPCB. c) Photograph of a flattened FISA. d) Schematic of the sensor array, including glucose, lactate, sodium,
potassium and temperature sensors for multiplexed perspiration analysis. e) The influence and compensation of temperature on the responses of the
glucose and lactate sensors. Reproduced with permission.[1] Copyright 2016, Nature Publish Group.
activity. Meantime, the intrinsic softness of graphene could be device to obtain excellent high spatial-temporal sensitivity and
well retained. Besides, the integrated temperature sensor is mechanical reliability to the variable ambient surroundings.
with the capability of tracking the temperature changes of the For wearable sensing systems attached to the human body,
skin, and preventing overheating. This continuous and multi- temperature and humidity are considered to be two key issues,
modality point-of-care monitoring in combination with thermal which not only need to be sensed, but also can generate inter-
actuation therapy based on the electrochemical device provides ferences to the properties of the other integration physical or
a unique and convenient way for remote clinical medicine. An chemical and biosensors. To solve this problem, one strategy
intelligent prosthetic e-skin was also implemented by Kim et is to modify the sensing performance by means of the tem-
al., which can simultaneously sense humidity, temperature, perature and humidity compensation. Javey and co-workers
and multiple forms of strain and is equipped with a heater reported a mechanically flexible and fully integrated sensor
to adjust the body temperature.[174] The precise and scientific array for multiplexed in situ perspiration analysis, which ena-
design of these various sensing element arrays enabled the bled simultaneous and selective measurements of sodium
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and potassium ions electrolytes, glucose, and lactate metabo- was sensitive to its relevant external stimulus but had almost
lites, as well as the skin temperature sensor (Figure 10b–d).[1] no influence on the other two stimuli. As demonstrated by the
Technological gap between signal transduction, conditioning authors, the simplex sensing performance of the GO-based
(amplification and filtering), processing, and wireless trans- humidity sensor was measured under three stimuli: pressure,
mission in wearable biosensors could be bridged by com- temperature, and humidity. The GO capacitance provides
bining plastic-based sensors that hand an interface with the response only to the humidity and not to the pressure and tem-
skin and silicon integrated circuits consolidated on a flexible perature. Above 80 °C, a slight increase in the GO capacitance
circuit board for complex signal processing. More importantly, could be observed. However, this change was much smaller
this system integration allows for the realization of real-time than the response resulting from a humidity change. Similarly,
compensation to calibrate the sensor readings on the basis of the resistance of the rGO-based thermal sensor only changed
temperature variations. With the increase of temperature, the with the temperature. And the pressure sensing properties
uncompensated sensor readouts can give rise to substantial were less influenced by the temperature and the RH sensing.
overestimation of the actual concentration of the lactate solu-
tions and given glucose (Figure 10e). This study proves that it
makes possible to eliminate the effects of environmental and 2.4. Brief Summary
physical temperature with the temperature compensation inte-
grated with the wearable system. As shown in Table 1, we summarized the recent progress in the
The design of wearable sensor that was only sensitive to its development of wearable sensors as we mentioned above, in
specific stimulation but giving no response to other stimula- terms of their applications, active materials, functions, issues,
tions is the other method. Cho et al. developed a transparent and the perspective of their near-future research direction.
and stretchable all-graphene multifunctional E-skin with three Although different wearable sensors and their multifunctional
different sensors (pressure, temperature, and humidity) in integrated sensing systems exhibit excellent sensing perfor-
matrix.[175] CVD-grown graphene was used to form intercon- mance, there are still many issues in common that need to be
nects and electrodes for these three sensors, whereas rGO addressed: (a) For the sake of practical use, wearable sensing
and GO were employed as the active sensing materials for the systems must be developed to be designed on large-scale sub-
temperature and humidity sensors, respectively. Each sensor strates with great flexibility and stretchability. Fully printed
Table 1. Summary of wearable sensors and their issues and perspective.
Wearable sensors Applications Materials Functions Issues Perspective

[42]
Piezoresistive sensors Human–machine interfaces CPs Low power consumption Poor sensing Microstructure
Electronic skin Metal particles[53] Easy read-out Detection limit Bioinspired
rGO[55] Simple structures Hysteresis effect Microchannel network
Polypyrrole[75] Low cost
Piezoelectric sensors Acoustic vibration detection P(VDF-TrFE)[83] High sensitive Static sensing Microstructure
Texture characterization BaTiO3[84] Good dynamic response Detection limit High-resolution
ZnO[86] Self-power ability Drift of sensor Suitable substrates
[88]
PZT
Capacitive sensors Human health monitoring PDMS[102] High sensitive Crosstalk OFET structures
Touch screen PU[97] Low power consumption Environmental Interference Interdigitated
[98]
Ecoflex Temperature independent Complex circuitry Operating voltage
Image sensors Artificial intelligence CH3NH3PbI3[113] Flexible Device stability Heterostructures
Vision chip MAPbI3[122] High-resolution Response speed Spectrum extension
ZnSnO3[123] UV light Infrared light Sensing response
Biosensors and electro- Disease diagnosis Liquid ion[135] In real-time Device stability FET-based biosensor
physiological sensor
Personal healthcare rGO-coated pollen[136] Low power consumption Detection limit Implantable
PEDOT:PSS[139] High sensing performance Biocompatibility
Gas sensors Control air pollutants Metal oxide[150] Room temperature Response speed Biomaterials
[151]
Exhaled breath monitoring CNTs Free from humidity Sensing response In real-time
PbS QD[152] Low working voltage Selectivety
Temperature sensors Monitoring environment Metal layer[158] Stretchable Environment interferences Bioconformability
Medical applications PANI[159] Transparency Accurate detection Biodegradability
rGO[164] Ultrahigh sensitivity High resolution Biomedical monitoring
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sensors will attract much attention in wearable systems in the as-fabricated device was then used as an energy supply for a
future because of the scalability and costs. To further increase self-powered pressure sensor with high sensitive and transpar-
the scalability and the throughput, methods of roll-to-roll ency, high detection resolution, as well as fast response time.
printing may be more applicable; (b) Solutions are needed to In addition, the output efficiency was greatly enhanced due
decrease the power consumption of devices, which will prolong to the triboelectric effect increasing and capacitance change
the working duration by minimizing the battery consump- by the design of patterned PDMS arrays. High separation-dis-
tion. In most studies, in order to achieve a low consumption of tance change and large contact area can be used to increase the
power, it is desirable to lower the working voltage and to keep a amount of charge produced between the induced current flows
proper resistance of wearable sensors; (c) The conformability of and the triboelectric materials. With the low cost and simple
wearable sensors can be further improved by using biocompat- fabrication process, there are great advantages for flexible tribo-
ible and biodegradable substrates, allowing for the possibility of electric nanogenerator (FTNG) to be integrated with wearable
integrating wearable sensors with the human body; (d) So far, sensors for practical applications and industrial production.
there have been many researches focusing their attention on Besides, the author also showed the potential applications of
the subject of optimizing wearable sensors interfaced with an the self-powered sensing systems for personal electronics and
electronic readout but scarcely any wearable sensors interfaced touchscreens.[184–186] Recently, they further developed a tactile
with output that is readable to human. imaging system powered by the integrated triboelectric sensor
array, as shown in Figure 11a,b.[187] The sensor array consisted
of independent triboelectric sensor units, which can use the
3. Wearable Self-Powered Sensing Systems contour plot of the output voltage from all units to offer the
mapping of external pressure. However, some defects were
Constructing wearable sensing platforms with ultralow power existed in the integrated system due to the independent of
consumption is important to improve battery life for long- each pixel, making the fabrication of large-scale high-resolution
term applications. Self-powered sensors without additional arrays hard to be achieved. To solve this problem, Bao et al.
external power supply are extremely beneficial for the wear- recently provide a more suitable method based on the single-
able electronics application. However, device designs of most of electrode triboelectric sensors.[31] They developed an integrated
the above-discussed wearable sensors involved bulky onboard sensing system with the ability to distinguish multiple mechan-
power sources, direct physical connections, and associated ical stimuli by combining the triboelectricity generation with
circuitry, which limits drastically their practical applications. resistive lateral strain sensing and capacitive pressure sensing.
Therefore, self-powered sensors are desperately needed to wear- As the microstructured PDMS films have air gaps, the as-fab-
able applications for personal healthcare and human activity ricated devices have an excellent response from several pascals
monitoring as it can work continuously and suitably without to tens of kilopascals. In the pressure region lower than 1 kPa,
interruption.[176–179] In this section, we summarize the recent the maximum and average sensitivities are 1.5 and 0.7 kPa−1,
developments of energy-harvester and energy-storage devices respectively. More importantly, from tens of volts and tenths
integrated wearable sensing systems. to several µA cm−2, their device enable to harvest different
mechanical stimuli mentioned.
Piezoelectric effects with high sensitivity and fast response
3.1. Energy-Harvesters Integrated Self-Powered time that can measure the dynamic and static process have
Sensing Systems been widely applied in the self-powered mechanical wearable
sensor systems. Different inorganic and organic materials,
3.1.1. Mechanical Harvester Integrated Self-Powered such as BaTiO3, ZnO, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and
Sensing Systems some composite polymers have been used for self-powered
systems due to their piezoelectric effects.[188,189] Kim and co-
Mechanical energy like vibration and friction, a green and ubiq- workers used piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNG) based on
uitous resource of nature, is an inexhaustible energy around micropatterned P(VDF-TrFE) polymers to fabricate self-pow-
us. Mechanical energy used in wearable systems enabled the ered pressure sensors with high sensing performance.[190]
continuous power supply harvesting from human body. There- Compared with the flat film- based PNG, the micropatterned
fore, the energy produced by human activity in the daily life PNG has higher output current and voltage with average
and converted it into electrical energy to drive sensors will be values of 3.4 µA and 4.4 V under vertical mechanical compres-
very helpful in wearable platforms when they are operated on sive. Notably, even for the small applied force, the self-powered
human body. Generally, utilizing triboelectric effect and piezo- pressure sensors still exhibited high sensitivity. The enhance-
electric effect are the mainly ways to harvest the mechanical ment mechanism was further discussed using COMSOL
energy.[180–182] simulation, which is able to provide a new sight for designing
In recent years, triboelectric effect was extensively used piezoelectric self-powered sensing system. When combined
in wearable self-powered sensing systems as it is a unique with photonic devices, piezoelectric materials can also detect
approach to induce electrical charges on the surface of mate- mechanical stress via optical signals. For example, a flexible
rials by contact rubbed motions include sliding motion, vertical ZnO NWs-p GaN based LED array with a spatial resolution
touch, and torsional stress.[183] For instance, a triboelectric proof 2.7 µm for mapping of spatial pressure distributions corre-
cess based transparent nanogenerator with good mechanical sponding to a pixel density of 6 350 dpi was designed and fab-
flexibility was fabricated and studied by Wang et al.[165] The ricated by Pan et al. (Figure 11c).[191] Using a convex letters of
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Figure 11. Shematic of a) a 16 × 16 triboelectric sensor matrices and b) the pressure mapping process. Reproduced with permission.[187] Copyright 2016,
Wiley-VCH. c) The structure diagram of the pressure sensor array. d) Optical and electroluminescence image of the device with a convex mold on top.
Reproduced with permission.[191] Copyright 2013, Nature Publishing Group.
“PIEZO,” a 2D mapping of strains was fulfilled using the LED direct conversion of temperature differences to electric voltage
array. Figure 10d shows an optical image of a SU-8 convex between two different electrical conductors or semiconductors).
mold on the top of the device. A CCD was used to record Several groups have recently introduced the wearable thermal
the light-emitting images at applied strains of 20.15%. The energy-harvesting device based on thermoelectric effect for the
authors claimed that their studies have a great future in smart application in wearable self-powered sensing systems.[195–197]
sensor, human–machine interfacing, biological sciences, and Zhu and co-workers reported a microstructure-frame-supported
even defense technology. organic thermoelectric (MFSOTE) material, which can be used
in self-powered dual-parameter sensors (temperature and pres-
sure).[37] The external temperature and pressure stimuli can
3.1.2. Thermal Harvester Integrated Self-Powered Sensing Systems be transduced into separate electrical signals due to the inde-
pendent thermoelectric effect and piezoresistive effect. Such
Thermal energy-harvesting systems can harvest energy from device has a high temperature detection resolution of 0.1 K
human body activities based on thermoelectric and pyroelectric and pressure sensing response of 28.9 kPa−1. The mechanism
effects, which can convert thermal energy into electrical energy. behind was demonstrated as shown in Figure 12a, when sur-
For the pyroelectric effect, the electrical energy was converted rounding temperature changes, the I–V curves clearly shifted,
by the temperature fluctuations, which is mostly used in tem- where ST represents the Seebeck coefficient, and while pres-
perature sensor application, including human motion moni- sure exists, the slope (R) of the I–V curves changed. Figure 12b
toring or infrared imaging.[192–194] But for energy harvesting, displays the real-time infrared thermal images and output
the fast temperature fluctuations will restrict the energy conver- voltage/current curves of the MFSOTE device under a heated
sion efficiency for pyroelectirc generators. Unlike the pyroelec- element approaches. Although both temperature and pres-
tric effect, thermoelectricity converts the temperature gradients sure negligibly changed, an obvious increase in temperature
into electrical energy, which relies on the Seebeck effect (the was monitored by the MFSOTE device. And this temperature
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Figure 12. a) Schematic illustration of temperature–pressure (T–P) sensing mechanism. b) Real-time infrared thermal images and output voltage/
current curves of the MFSOTE device. c) Photograph of a prosthetic hand arm-wrestling with an adult woman and temperature/pressure mapping
profiles of pixel signals on the back of the prosthetic hand. d,e) Photograph and schematic illustration of the MFSOTE array with 4 × 4 pixels. f) The
T–P responses. Reproduced with permission.[37] Copyright 2015, Nature Publishing Group.
was maintained at 26.8 °C under subsequent mechanical 3.1.3. Photovoltaic Cell Powered Sensing Systems
contact, and the detected pressure increased from 100 Pa to
5 kPa with the movement of the step motor. Similarly, when an Besides the aforementioned thermal energy and mechanical
object was contacted with the device with coupled pressure and energy, solar energy is another important form of regenera-
temperature stimuli, the temperature between the device and tive and clean energy. By harvesting solar energy and con-
the object is measured by the thermoelectric effect and gener- verting into electrical energy, integrated photovoltaics system
ated electric potential. The external force can also be detected with high conversion efficiency provides an efficient way to
due to the resistance change induced by the microstructure build an energy-autonomous systems.[38,198,199] Compared to
frame, which was powered by the generated electric potential, the traditional solid-state solar cells and dye-sensitized solar
instead of external power supply. By wrestling a woman with cells, the research enthusiasm of perovskite solar cells (PSCs)
a prosthetic hand, the author further confirmed that their self- has been stimulated due to its constantly improved conver-
powered systems can monitor the pressure and temperature sion efficiency, which reaches up to 20% while using thou-
on the separated distribution map (Figure 12c). Moreover, sands times less light harvesting materials. At the same time,
Figure 12d,e shows the photograph and schematic illustra- various integrated PSCs system have been successfully fabri-
tion of the MFSOTE array with 4 × 4 pixels, its thermoelec- cated.[200] For example: Xu et al. presented a photocapacitor,
tric voltage, temperature, and pressure responses (Figure 12f) which contains both energy harvest PSCs and energy storage
demonstrate the multifunctional application of the MFSOTE supercapacitor.[201] In this structure, TiO2 serves as photo-
array devices, providing a novel intelligent model in e-skin and anode and PEDOT–carbon as cathode of PSC and superca-
healthcare equipment. pacitor. The power conversion efficiency of the PSCs part has
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Figure 13. a) Schematic of graphene-based capacitive touch sensor. b) Photograph of the sensors with different structure. c) Capacitive response
of the graphene sensor under pressures; inset: extracted sensitivities for a wide pressure regime. d) Graphene sensors integrated with an i-Limb.
e,f) “Grabbing” test of the integrated i-Limb. g) Schematic illustration of the heterogeneous integration of the graphene sensor-solar cell. h) The fab-
rication of the sensor-cell-integrated system. Photograph of solar cell, graphene-on-PVC/solar cell, patterned graphene-on PVC/solar cell, and sensor/
solar cell (from left-top to right-bottom). i) P–V characteristics, corresponding to h. Reproduced with permission.[202] Copyright 2017, Wiley-VCH.
been achieved of up to 7.1% as well as a maximum efficiency graphene sensors were then integrated with an i-Limb to per-
of integrated photocapacitor up to 4.70%. Moreover, Dahiya forming a “Grabbing” test, as shown in Figure 13d–f. The
and co-workers provided an integrated solar cells-transparent results of dynamic characterization demonstrated the sensi-
tactile sensors units, as displayed in Figure 13.[202] Figure 13a tivity of the sensors and its potential application in robotics.
shows a schematic of graphene-based capacitive touch sensor. Figure 13g shows the schematic illustration of the hetero-
Graphene nanosheets were first transferred on flexible PVC geneous integration of the graphene sensor-solar cell. The
substrate, then 10 nm thick Ti and 100 nm thick Au was sput- transparent tactile sensors were directly patterned on the top
tered on the both ends of the graphene film. A channel on of solar cell, establishing an energy-autonomous tactile skin.
graphene film was patterned by electronic cutting tool. After Figure 13h,i displayed the photograph and corresponding
spin-coating and curing of PDMS protective layer, the gra- P–V characteristics, of solar cell, graphene-on-PVC/solar cell,
phene- based tactile sensors were fabricated. The photograph patterned graphene-on PVC/solar cell, and sensor/solar cell
of the sensors with different structure was presented in (from left-top to right-bottom). The P–V performances were
Figure 13b. Figure 13c shows the capacitive response of the not affected by the covered sensors due to its special trans-
graphene sensor under different pressures ranging from 9.8 parent properties, demonstrating the rationality of the solar
to 72.1 kPa, demonstrating a fast and sensitive response. The cell-sensor system.
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3.2. Energy-Storage Devices Integrated Sensed Systems of handing in appearance and easy integration with functional
electronic/optoelectronic devices. In the past years, tremen-
Recently, flexible integrated systems that consist of both energy dous efforts have been committed to improve the performance
storage and functional sensing/detecting units have attracted of flexible 3D battery in order to broaden its breadth of appli-
wide attention due to their potential applications in portable cations.[213–216] Liu et al. designed a ZnCo2O4 nanowire (NW)
and wearable electronics, which can provide a real-time non- arrays/liquid electrolyte/LiCoO2-based flexible LIB with the
invasive health monitoring by extract meaningful human sig- features of high reversible capacity of 1300–1400 mAh g−1.[217]
nals, including physical signal, such as heart rate, wrist pulse, However, employing carbon cloth as the flexible substrate
body temperature, voice etc. and bioinformation, such as sweat, greatly increases the mass of the whole battery when compared
intracranial/intraocular pressure, etc.[15,203–205] To date, sev- with copper or aluminum with the same area, which may
eral types of self-powered like sensing devices with integrated decrease the mass specific energy density of the full battery to
energy storage units have been successfully realized.[206,207] some extent. Directly coating electrode materials on metal cur-
This section will highlight the most recently interesting studies rent collectors presented an efficient way to solve this problem.
on various flexible energy storage device integrated sensing An example is the flexible LIBs with LMO nanorods on flex-
systems with different device constitutions and monitoring ible stainless steel foil as the cathode and overcapacity LTO
functions. nanorods on Ti foil as the anode (part 2 of Figure 14).[39] As-
fabricated LIBs showed very good mechanical flexibility and
electrochemical stability. The capacities remained at 147 and
3.2.1. Lithium Battery Integrated Sensing Systems 133 mAh g−1 after 60 cycles, about 93% and 88% of their ini-
tial values. After being fully charged, the flexible LIB was able
Flexible electronic and optoelectronic devices were developed to light a blue LED even in the bent state, demonstrating its
very fast in the past several years. However, to fulfill fully flex- potential applications as light-weight and flexible power supply
ible electronic systems, the power supply should also be flex- for wearable electronics.
ible, which is impossible for nowadays energy storage devices,
such as LIBs, and supercapacitors. To solve this problem,
researchers devote more and more efforts to promote the devel- 3.2.2. Supercapacitor Integrated Sensing Systems
opment of flexible energy storage devices.[39] With the feasibility
of weaving into textiles with excellent flexibility, fiber LIBs rep- SCs are another type of energy-storage units that are currently
resent one of the attractive flexible power supplies for wearable popularly used. They are promising power sources with fast
electronics.[208–210] For example, Peng and co-workers reported charge/discharge rates, high power densities, and long cycle
a twisted, aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/ lives (thousands to millions of cycles), while flexible SCs have
Si composite fiber as working electrode with a lithium wire as additional features including high-flexibility, light-weight, ease
both counter and reference electrode for flexible fiber-shaped of handing, and wider range of operation temperature to fit
LIBs.[211] Although the MWCNTs/Si composite electrodes exhib- the wearability of integrated circuits.[218–222] Up to now, flexible
ited an excellent electrochemical performance with high spe- SCs have been widely integrated with functional sensors, such
cific capacity of 1670 mAh g−1 at a current density of 1.0 A g−1, as SC-photodetector system, SC-gas sensor system, and pres-
the use of lithium metal wire introduces security risks, such sure sensor system, etc., realizing individual work and contin-
as leakage current over age and wearable LIB overheat during uous monitor in comparison to conventional single functional
use, recharging or storage, etc. Following this work, the same device.[148,223–227] Wang et al. reported a fiber-based flexible
group further investigated the possibility to replace lithium all-solid-state asymmetric SCs for integrated photodetecting
wire with other electrodes and much safer flexible fiber LIBs system, where Co3O4 nanowires on nickel fibers acted as the
were then developed with MWCNTs/Li4Ti5O12 (MWCNTs/LTO) positive electrode, and graphene as both the negative electrode
and MWCNTs/LiMn2O4 (MWCNT/LMO) as the anode and and the light-sensitive material, as displayed in Figure 15.[206]
cathode, respectively, as shown in Part 1 of Figure 14.[212] The The asymmetric SC configuration takes full advantages of pseu-
fiber LIBs had superior flexibility and outstanding stability even docapacitive properties of Co3O4 positive electrode to enhance
after repeating the bending testes 1000 times. An elastic fiber- the specific capacitance and graphene-based negative electrode
shaped LIB was also fabricated by winding the yarn cathode to improve the operating potential. Figure 15a shows the cyclic
and anode around an elastic substrate as shown in Figure 14 voltammetry (CV) curves measured at different bending states,
P1c, which was used to power a red LED under increasing elon- corresponding to the inset photos. The fabricated fiber-based
gations from 0% to 100%. The illumination intensity of the SCs offered a high capacitance of 2.1 F cm−3 at a current den-
LED did not show any noticeable change when the battery was sity of 20 mA cm−3, a high energy density of 0.62 mWh cm−3,
continuously stretched by 100%, confirming the excellent elec- and power density of 1.47 W cm−3, which laid the foundation
trochemical stability of the elastic fiber-shaped LIB. The fiber- for the integrated system. The internal mechanism of the SC-
shaped battery can be woven into electronic textiles, which are photodetector integrated system is presented in Figure 15b.
expected to satisfy the ever-growing requirements for wearable After being charged to 1.5 V, the leakage currents of the SC
electronics, as shown in Figure 14 P1d,e. was measured by periodically turning the white light on and
Besides the fiber-shaped LIBs, 3D flexible LIBs act as off, showing evident photoresponse with an light intensity of
another important type of flexible LIBs used for wearable elec- 25 and 40 mW cm−2 (Figure 15c). The stable photoresponse
tronics as they have the features of small size, low weight, ease performance indicates the feasibility and stability of the use of
small
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Figure 14. Part 1: Flexible fiber LIBs. a) A schematic illustration of battery, MWCNT/LTO, and MWCNT/LMO function as the anode and cathode,
respectively. b) Galvanostatic charge and discharge curves before and after bending. c) The stretchability of the battery. d,e) Photographs of wire-shaped
batteries woven into flexible textiles and lighting test. Reproduced with permission.[212] Copyright 2014, Wiley-VCH. Part 2: 3D flexible LIBs. a) Sche-
matics of the flexible LTO//LMO full cell. b) Photographs of the titanium foil and the as-synthesized LTO nanostructures on Ti foil. c,d) Photographs of
the as-assembled flexible battery at different bending states. e–g) The flexibility of the battery. h) Lighting a blue LED device under bending. Reproduced
with permission.[39] Copyright 2014, Springer.
SC to replace conventional external energy sources, providing a by a MSC array that could be repeatedly charged by the inte-
new type and simple way to obtained fiber-based 1D integrated grated wireless radio frequency (RF) power receiver on a flex-
systems. ible Ecoflex substrate.[3] Figure 15d shows the photograph of
Planar micro-SCs are also developed in past decades, integrated system, which contains a RF power receiver, a MSC
expected to couple with various types of sensors and detec- array, strain sensor, and UV/NO2 gas sensor. The system could
tors.[228,229] For example, our group coupled the NiFe2O4-based monitor the biosignals such as the human pulse, motion, and
MSC with a graphene pressure sensor as a microintegrated voice; and a MWNT/SnO2 NW sensor could detect both envi-
system to implement its pressure response function and used ronmentally NO2 and UV light. The Ragone plot and charge–
MATLAB to simulate this system behavior as well.[230] Yun discharge curves of the MSC were displayed in Figure 15e, the
et al. demonstrated a patterned graphene gas sensor driven by electrochemical tests demonstrated that the MSC arrays have
integrated MSC array.[148] Although these integrated system a specific capacitance of 4.7 F cm−3, a power density of
mentioned above successfully realized the monitoring purposes 12.6 W cm−3, and energy density of 1.5 mWh cm−3, respectively.
to light or gas, but functional unit is too single result in dif- Figure 15f exhibits the resistance versus hand motion, dem-
ficulty to realize the detection of complex environment. So Ha onstrating that the integrated system can provide reproducible
and co-workers developed stretchable multisensors operated information on signals of pulse. Further, the integrated device
small
NANO MICRO
Figure 15. a) CV curves, b) Schematic illustration, and c) photoresponse of the fiber-based all-solid-state asymmetric SC integrated photodetector
system. Reproduced with permission.[206] Copyright 2014, Wiley-VCH. d) Stretchable multisensor system integrated with RF rechargeable energy storage
devices. The system consists of a RF power receiver, an MSC array, strain sensor, and UV/NO2 gas sensor. e) Ragone plot and charge–discharge curves
of the fabricated MSC. f) Resistance versus hand motion. g) Photographs of the device attached on skin of neck. h) Sensing mechanism of NO2 gas
and UV light with MWCNT/SnO2 NW film sensor. i) UV detection of 254 nm light. Reproduced with permission.[3] Copyright 2014, Wiley-VCH.
could be directly attached on the neck of tester (Figure 15g). electricity, while piezoelectric methods convert only ≈10%[231]
Figure 15h presents the sensing mechanism of NO2 gas and (Table 2 shows a review of conversion efficiency of different
UV light with MWCNT/SnO2 NW film sensor. The result of energy harvesting technologies). Since Wang and Song[232] pre-
UV detection of 254 nm light displayed in Figure 15i. pared the first ZnO nanowire-based NG in 2006, NG was being
All the results obtained in this paper indicated that the wireless developed rapidly in recent year and gradually being integrated
rechargeable MSCs could serve as power source to drive the with energy supply and sensor/detector, forming a from energy
stretchable sensor to detector biosignals like pulse, voice, and harvest to storage to application complete reflection. Figure 16a
body motion, as well as NO2 gas and UV lights. For practical shows one of the typical representatives. In self-powered inte-
applications, the wearable devices were usually embedded into grated system, TENG can be used as both active sensor for
flexible skin-touched substrate, such as PDMS, PET, PU, etc detecting machine vibration independently and power source
to avoid damaging the human body without disruption of the for driving other electronics device.[41] Specifically, a commer-
performances and the whole size of wearable sensors. cial temperature, humidity sensors and speedometer can be
stably driven by TENG while riding bicycle, indicating that
TENG can serve as the exclusive power source for portable and
3.3. All-In-One Self-Powering System wearable electronics, which endows electronics with longer life-
time and save the trouble of battery replacement. Although the
The two energy supply-sensor/detector system introduced above TENG-integrated system can work independently and
above already realized the detection of wearable signals created continuously, but because of lacking energy storage system, it
by the body motion, but in fact, the human motion, such as is difficult to deal with emergency energy needs. So contained
working, running could produce a large amount of mechan- the energy storage unit in the integrated system become a chal-
ical energy, by harvesting body motion energy an all-in-one lenge for the integrated system.
self-powered system can be built.[19,184,186] Alternatively, new Further, Guo et al. provides an all-in-one integrated system
nanogenerator (NG) that can harvest energy by applying nano- that consists of energy harvest, storage, and application com-
material and nanotechnology from the environment, typically, ponent. Mechanical energy from human motions can be har-
the collection of mechanical energy, which exists abundantly vested by TENG and then stored into SC for driving wearable
in human active. Among them, triboelectric nanogenerator and portable electronics.[233] The all-in-one shape-adaptive
can convert 50% of the mechanical energy from motions into self-charging power unit under different kinds of complex
small
NANO MICRO
Table 2. A review of conversion efficiency of the recent published reports.
Energy harvester Output power density Conversion efficiency Refs.

TENG Al thin film + fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) film 102 W cm−2 @ 7Hz 60% @ 7 Hz [41]
TENG Ag nanowire + silicon rubber 10.6 µW @ 1.5 Hz – [233]
Fiber-like TENG Silicone rubber + CNT/polymer + copper microwire 35 mW m−2 – [234]
TENG Al/polydimethylsiloxane 46.8 mW cm−2 @ 3Hz 22.4% @ 3 Hz [235]
Biodegradable TENG −2 – [236]
32.6 mW m @ 1 Hz
Liquid metal TENG 6.7 W m−2 @ 1 Hz 70.6% @ 10 Hz [237]
Rolling TENG 1.6 W m−2 55% [238]
TENG Kapton/gold – 77.9% [239]
Micrograting TENG 50 mW cm−2 50% [240]
Grating-structured freestanding TENG 1.2 W m−2 85% [241]
MoS2-based PENG 2 mW m−2 5.08% [242]
PVDF-based PENG 0.17 mW cm−3 – [243]
ZnO-based PENG 10 mW cm−3 – [244]
PZT-based PENG 88 mW cm−3 – [245]
ZnSnO3Nanocubes/Polymer-based PENG output current density:1 µA cm−2 – [246]
GaAs solar cells – 21% [38]
Organic perovskite solar cell – 19.8% [198]
SM 315-based dye-sensitized solar cells – 13% [199]
Planar CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cell – 19.1% [200]
PEDOT/carbon-based perovskite solar cell – 7.1% [201]
deformations is shown in Figur16b. Figure 16c exhibits the V–t sors and their self-powered sensing systems. Owing to the
curve of integrated circle. The charging curve in the initial 20 s enormous amount of publications and news on those topics,
is enlarged, as shown in Figure 16d. It is worth mentioning this is significantly increasing reflecting the urgent need for
that six single SCs were connected in series to solve the voltage a sustainable society. Wearable self-powered sensing systems,
matching problem between energy harvesting units and energy not only realize conformal attached to enable long-term con-
storage system, making a coordinating effect in the charging tinuous monitoring but also have the mobile electronics self-
processes by TENG. The enlarged V–t curve under discharging powered to meet the strong demand for mobile electronics
mode, sustainable mode, and recharging mode was shown in application.
Figure 16e, demonstrating the all-in-one shape-adaptive self- While considerable achievements in self-powered wearable
charging power package could be used for harvesting body electronic sensors have been demonstrated, grand challenges
motion energy to sustainably drive wearable/portable elec- still remain for emerging and practical applications, such as
tronics and presents a promising platform in the practical wear- energy, electronics, and biological devices. These challenges
able applications of self-powered systems, which will provide include that (1) sensing performance with acceptable lifetime
a valuable experience and practice in self-powered multifunc- still need to be enhanced. Discovering novel, 3D materials with
tional wearable electronics. a pore-rich structure and high specific surface area, such as
honeycomb and cellular structure, pore network structure, may
be important study directions. (2) Interferences in monitoring
4. Conclusions and Prospects human activity and health form the external environment, such
as various pH condition, different humidity, temperature, and
Wearable and flexible electronic sensors have been arousing gas environment, still need to be considered. Designing new,
an enormous amount of attention as an emerging sensing multifunction wearable self-powered integrated sensor array
platform in the fields of medicine, environment, and manu- systems should be concerned to exclude the external interfer-
facture due to their personalized forms and tunable mechan- ences. (3) For the self-powered systems, the energy part (energy
ical properties. Except for the adjustable forms in wearable harvester and energy storage) plays an important role in the
sensors, unique component designs of devices meaningfully continuous and stable work of the whole system. New mate-
improved the generated power abundant to self-drive various rials and device structures should be discovered to improve the
functions. This topic can provide new opening in mobile, energy and power densities for the different wearable sensors
low-power wearable electronic sensor systems. In this review, with prolonging operations. (4) Printable wearable electronic
we systematically present a recent progress in wearable sen- devices as a new opening will be concerned. Highly unified,
small
NANO MICRO
Figure 16. a) System configuration of a vibration energy harvesting system based on the energy harvested from riding a bicycle and demonstration of
sustainable operation for electronic temperature and humidity indicator and speedometer while riding a bicycle. Reproduced with permission.[41]
Copyright 2017, American Chemical Society. Application of the all-in-one shape-adaptive self-charging power package in conventional wearable elec-
tronics. b) Photographs of power package under various mechanical deformations. c) V–t curve under various operating modes. d) V−t curve of the
power package with charging by TENG (working frequency 5 Hz). e) Enlarged V–t curve of the power package connected to an electric watch under
various operating modes. Reproduced with permission.[233] Copyright 2016, American Chemical Society.
good flexibility, and large-scale sensors can be fabricated Keywords

directly by printing technologies to realize a fully printable
energy harvest, energy storage, integrated systems, self-powered,
self-powered electronics in the future. Overall, these innova- wearable sensors
tive wearable self-powered sensing systems and platforms will
endow wireless body sensor networks, which are applicable to Received: May 29, 2017
personalized health care in the future. Revised: July 1, 2017
Published online: October 27, 2017
Acknowledgements
Z.L. and L.L. contributed equally to this work. This work was supported [1] W. Gao, S. Emaminejad, H. Y. Nyein, S. Challa, K. Chen,
by the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Grant Nos. A. Peck, H. M. Fahad, H. Ota, H. Shiraki, D. Kiriya, D. H. Lien,
61625404, 61504136), the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (Grant G. A. Brooks, R. W. Davis, A. Javey, Nature 2016, 529, 509.
No. 4162062) and the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, CAS [2] Y. Ai, Z. Lou, S. Chen, D. Chen, Z. M. Wang, K. Jiang, G. Shen,
(QYZDY-SSW-JWC004). Nano Energy 2017, 35, 121.
[3] D. Kim, D. Kim, H. Lee, Y. R. Jeong, S. J. Lee, G. Yang, H. Kim,
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[4] J. Park, J. Kim, K. Kim, S. Y. Kim, W. H. Cheong, K. Park, J. H. Song,
Conflict of Interest G. Namgoong, J. J. Kim, J. Heo, F. Bien, J. U. Park, Nanoscale
The authors declare no conflict of interest. 2016, 8, 10591.
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001 Self Powre Sensing

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Recent Progress of Self-Powered Sensing Systems

personalized healthcare.[6–10] With the fast

energy storage devices as significant as power harvesters in

Table 1. Summary of wearable sensors and their issues and perspective.

Wearable sensors Applications Materials Functions Issues Perspective

Table 2. A review of conversion efficiency of the recent published reports.

Energy harvester Output power density Conversion efficiency Refs.

good flexibility, and large-scale sensors can be fabricated Keywords

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