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Micromachines
Special Issues
Soft Sensors and Soft Circuits: Design, Implementation and Applications
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Soft Sensors and Soft Circuits: Design, Implementation and Applications

A Special Issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X) belonging to the section "A: Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 March 2027 | Viewed by 5071

Editors

Dr. Lei Jing

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Graduate School of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of Aizu, Tsuruga, Ikki-machi, Aizuwakamatsu 965-8580, Japan
Interests: motion capture; wearable sensors; smart devices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Tomohito Sekine

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Center for Organic Electronics (ROEL), Yamagata University, 4-3-16, Jonan, Yonezawa 992-8510, Yamagata, Japan
Interests: organic material science; flexible device; tactile sensor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid development of soft sensor and soft circuit technologies is redefining the boundaries of modern electronics and enabling the novel application of technologies in healthcare, wearable technology, robotics, and beyond. These innovations emphasize flexibility, adaptability, and integration, allowing for unprecedented interaction between technology and the human body or complex environments.

This Special Issue of Micromachines focuses on the design, implementation, and application of soft sensors and soft circuits, highlighting the transformative potential of these emerging technologies. Soft sensors, such as those integrated into e-textiles or wearable devices, offer robust solutions for monitoring physiological signals, environmental conditions, and mechanical deformation. Meanwhile, soft circuits, leveraging their flexible and conformal nature, allow seamless integration into unconventional form factors, creating pathways for innovative applications in wearable health monitoring, human–machine interfaces, and flexible robotics.

This Special Issue invites researchers, engineers, and industry professionals to share their latest findings, insights, and innovations. By showcasing interdisciplinary approaches and novel methodologies, this collection will contribute to shaping the future of soft sensor and circuit technologies, promoting new applications in the field and pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

We welcome the submission of articles that address challenges, propose novel solutions, and present the innovative implementation of soft sensors and circuits. Contributions can include original research, review articles, and case studies that reflect the latest trends and advancements in this dynamic field.

Dr. Lei Jing
Dr. Tomohito Sekine
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • e-textiles
  • e-skin
  • soft robotics
  • wearable sensors
  • flexible and stretchable electronics
  • human–machine interfaces
  • conductive polymers
  • self-healing sensors
  • hydrogel-based sensors
  • skin-mountable devices

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 10776 KB  
Article
Flexible ACEK-Enhanced Capacitive Aptasensor for Rapid Cortisol Detection in Sweat
by Jiuyi Wang, Xiao Lv, Mengjie Yang, Xiaogang Lin, Zhizeng Wang and Jie Jayne Wu
Micromachines 2026, 17(7), 800; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17070800 - 30 Jun 2026
Viewed by 1239
Abstract
Cortisol, as a crucial biomarker reflecting psychological stress and physiological status, requires rapid and sensitive detection for health assessment and disease diagnosis. Conventional methods are time-consuming, operationally complex, and costly, limiting their use for point-of-care testing. This study reports a flexible, aptamer-based capacitive [...] Read more.
Cortisol, as a crucial biomarker reflecting psychological stress and physiological status, requires rapid and sensitive detection for health assessment and disease diagnosis. Conventional methods are time-consuming, operationally complex, and costly, limiting their use for point-of-care testing. This study reports a flexible, aptamer-based capacitive biosensor that exploits alternating current electrokinetics for ultrafast detection of cortisol in small-volume samples. Aptamers are immobilized via Au-S self-assembly on gold interdigitated electrodes on a PET substrate, and ACEK-induced fluid motion and dielectrophoresis rapidly enrich cortisol at the electrode interface, producing measurable interfacial capacitance changes ΔC/C0. The experimental results demonstrate that the sensor achieves a detection limit of 0.337 ng/mL in artificial sweat, with a response time within 1 min and a good linear response across the concentration range of 1 to 1000 ng/mL. Requiring only 10 μL of sample, the sensor exhibits good repeatability, specificity, and interference resistance, making it suitable for rapid cortisol level detection. To enhance detection stability, this study designed and integrated a microfluidic chip, enabling efficient sample delivery and stable detection. The system demonstrates strong interference resistance, revealing potential applications in health management and disease monitoring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Sensors and Soft Circuits: Design, Implementation and Applications)
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17 pages, 4095 KB  
Article
Flexible In-Sensor Computing Strain Sensor for Lower-Limb Gait Recognition
by Jiayu Ma, Yuyu Feng, Ye Tian, Hao Guo and Zongmin Ma
Micromachines 2026, 17(6), 710; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17060710 - 10 Jun 2026
Viewed by 581
Abstract
Flexible strain sensors have attracted considerable attention in gait recognition owing to their ability to adhere directly to the skin near joints and transduce local deformation. In existing work, however, sensor placement and orientation are largely determined by anatomical experience, while multi-channel classification [...] Read more.
Flexible strain sensors have attracted considerable attention in gait recognition owing to their ability to adhere directly to the skin near joints and transduce local deformation. In existing work, however, sensor placement and orientation are largely determined by anatomical experience, while multi-channel classification still relies on back-end digital processors, whose power consumption and latency constrain system practicality in wearable scenarios. This paper presents an integrated design path that proceeds from skin-mechanics theory through sensor-layout optimization to analog-domain front-end inference. On the layout side, the lines-of-non-extension (LoNE) theory is employed to convert the selection of sensor attachment angles from empirical judgment into a calculable mechanics problem; guided by the spatial course of LoNE in the ankle and knee regions, the positions and angles of the nine sensors are determined individually—channels perpendicular to the LoNE capture maximum strain, channels offset by 45 degrees supplement non-sagittal-plane information, and a channel aligned along the LoNE provides a near-zero-strain reference. On the circuit side, the mathematical equivalence between the weighted summation of a linear classifier and Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL) nodal current superposition is exploited to map the classification operation onto current aggregation in an analog circuit, yielding an in-sensor computing (ISC) front end in which the nine-channel weighted summation is completed in a single analog step. The sensors are fabricated by screen-printing a liquid-metal–polymer composite conductive ink onto a TPU film substrate, with a gauge factor RSD of 6.8% and a tensile linearity R2>0.99. Using walking, running, and stair descent as verification targets, the analog classifier reaches 99% accuracy at the circuit-level functional-verification stage. On real multi-subject data, it achieves 87.0%±8.4% accuracy under intra-subject cross-session validation, with an analog-domain inference response faster than 100μs. This design path is not bound to a specific joint or sensor material; when the layout methodology is extended to additional joint regions and the circuit architecture incorporates multiple outputs to cover more classification categories, the same workflow remains applicable, offering a promising low-power, lightweight technical solution for wearable motion monitoring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Sensors and Soft Circuits: Design, Implementation and Applications)
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12 pages, 2357 KB  
Article
MXene-Based High-Performance Soft Pressure Sensor Using Gel–Deep Eutectic Solvent Composite
by Riku Sasaki, Kaiin Tou, Shoma Kamanoi, Junya Yoshida, Yoshihito Takabe, Yasuyuki Miura, Eri Kamiya, Ayana Hirayama and Tomohito Sekine
Micromachines 2025, 16(5), 579; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16050579 - 15 May 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2430
Abstract
MXene, a layered nanocarbon material, exhibits excellent conductivity and solubility. Its high sensitivity also makes it useful for soft pressure sensors. However, the compatibility between sensitivity and fast responses in resistance-change sensors remains a major issue. This study developed an MXene-based high-performance soft [...] Read more.
MXene, a layered nanocarbon material, exhibits excellent conductivity and solubility. Its high sensitivity also makes it useful for soft pressure sensors. However, the compatibility between sensitivity and fast responses in resistance-change sensors remains a major issue. This study developed an MXene-based high-performance soft pressure sensor using a gel–deep eutectic solvent composite. The composite conductive material exhibited excellent solubility and printability in soft device fabrication. The aim of this work was to produce a high-quality soft pressure sensor that exhibited quick responses over a wide sensitivity range for detecting applied pressure. The sensors achieved high performance in terms of a high-speed response (40 ms) and good sensitivity (−0.0109 kPa−1). These results represent an advance in intelligent wearable sensing systems by combining materials science and electronic devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Sensors and Soft Circuits: Design, Implementation and Applications)
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