Bioinspired Electrostatic‐Field Perturbated Sensing for General Material Noncontact Perception

Abstract

ABSTRACT Noncontact sensing is essential for smart manufacturing and safe human‐machine interaction, yet existing proximity and inspection sensors are often limited by material selectivity, ambient light, and continuous power consumption. Here, we report a bioinspired electrostatic‐field sensor that implements a solid‐state analogue of electrolocation using a corona‐polarized fluoropolymer electret. The pre‐charged electret establishes a quasi‐static electric field, and nearby objects reshape this field to induce measurable potential modulation on a grounded electrode, enabling friction‐free sensing without active emission or mechanical contact. The sensor detects both conductive and dielectric targets (metals, polymers, glass), while waveform features encode material‐dependent electrical signatures. The device achieves a near‐field change in separation sensitivity of 1.05 V per 50 µm and maintains stable responses over 10,000 approach‐withdraw cycles. Combined with machine‐learning models, the platform enables proximity warning, touch‐free interaction, material discrimination, coating‐defect recognition, gesture decoding, and gesture‐to‐robot control. This work establishes electrostatic‐field perturbation as a robust strategy for low‐power, multifunctional noncontact perception.