Highly flexible and stretchable optical strain sensing for human motion detection
Open accessAbstract
Strain sensors with high flexibility and stretchability are essential for quantifying strains generated by human activities due to the soft and curvilinear surfaces of the body. Here, we report the design and fabrication of a highly flexible and stretchable optical strain sensor that is applicable for the detection of human motions. The sensor is based on dye-doped polydimethylsiloxane optical fiber, which enables the quantitative detection of tensile strains by absorption changes of the light passing through the dye-doped fiber. Elaborate mechanical and strain tests confirm durability, reliability, and long-term stability of the sensor device. The sensor exhibits linear and repeatable responses in a large dynamic range up to 100%, far exceeding the stretchability of conventional silica fibers (<1%), and the strain precision is below +/−1%. We show that the sensor can be used to monitor various human activities, such as joint motion, speaking, and deep breathing in real time.
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Optical sensors detect blood flow and oxygenation changes using light absorption spectra and reflection principles, and are used for muscle movement detection, heart rate monitoring, blood pressure monitoring, respiratory, blood oxygen saturation, and heart rate monitoring.
“Detect blood flow and oxygenation changes using | light absorption spectra and reflection principles 215”
From Recent advances in intelligent wearable systems: from multiscale biomechanical features towards human motion intent prediction (2026) · cites this paper as [215]
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Stretchable and Highly Sensitive Optical Strain Sensors for Human-Activity Monitoring and Healthcare
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Self-citationChen, S., Peng, C., Yang, B., Lin, J., Zhou, L., Jiang, Z., Liu, Z., Liu, Y., & Tang, L. (2026) · npj Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.1038/s44387-026-00083-5 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
- Authors
- Guo, J., Niu, M., & Yang, C.
- Affiliations
- Tsinghua University (CN)
- Venue
- Optica
- Publisher
- Optica Publishing Group
- Published
- 2017-10-12
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1285
- ISSN
- 2334-2536 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2762634763
- Cited by
- 220
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 13
- FWCI
- 6.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Optica (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Advanced Fiber Optic Sensors
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Non-Invasive Vital Sign Monitoring
- Keywords
- optical strain sensors, stretchable sensors, flexible sensors, human motion detection, optical fibers, optical absorption, wearable sensing, joint motion monitoring, respiratory monitoring, speech monitoring
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