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Sun et al. Soft Sci. 2025, 5, 18 Soft Science
DOI: 10.20517/ss.2024.77

Review Article Open Access

Human skin-inspired neuromorphic sensors

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Jianfeng Sun , Chenyu Zhang , Chenxi Yang, Yunhao Ren, Binghe Ma, Weizheng Yuan, Tao Ye *
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano-Electro-
Mechanical Systems of Shaanxi Province, School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an
710072, Shaanxi, China.
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Authors contributed equally.
* Correspondence to: Prof. Tao Ye, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Key Laboratory
of Micro and Nano-Electro-Mechanical Systems of Shaanxi Province, School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern
Polytechnical University, No.127 Youyi West Road, Beilin District, Xi’an 710072, Shaanxi, China. E-mail: yetao@nwpu.edu.cn
How to cite this article: Sun, J.; Zhang, C.; Yang, C.; Ren, Y.; Ma, B.; Yuan, W.; Ye, T. Human skin-inspired neuromorphic sensors.
Soft Sci. 2025, 5, 18. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ss.2024.77
Received: 30 Dec 2024 First Decision: 10 Feb 2025 Revised: 25 Feb 2025 Accepted: 6 Mar 2025 Published: 21 Mar 2025

Academic Editors: YongAn Huang, Carlo Massaroni Copy Editor: Pei-Yun Wang Production Editor: Pei-Yun Wang

Abstract
Human skin-inspired neuromorphic sensors have shown great potential in revolutionizing machines to perceive and
interact with environments. Human skin is a remarkable organ, capable of detecting a wide variety of stimuli with
high sensitivity and adaptability. To emulate these complex functions, skin-inspired neuromorphic sensors have
been engineered with flexible or stretchable materials to sense pressure, temperature, texture, and other physical
or chemical factors. When integrated with neuromorphic computing systems, which emulate the brain’s ability to
process sensory information efficiently, these sensors can further enable real-time, context-aware responses. This
study summarizes the state-of-the-art research on skin-inspired sensors and the principles of neuromorphic
computing, exploring their synergetic potential to create intelligent and adaptive systems for robotics, healthcare,
and wearable technology. Additionally, we discuss challenges in material/device development, system integration,
and computational frameworks of human skin-inspired neuromorphic sensors, and highlight promising directions
for future research.

Keywords: Skin-inspired sensors, neuromorphic computing, system integration

INTRODUCTION
Human skin is one of the most sophisticated and adaptive sensory organs, capable of perceiving a wide
array of stimuli, such as pressure, temperature, texture, and other physical or chemical factors, with

© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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