Nature-Inspired Sensors

Book excerpt: Nature-Inspired Sensors presents and discusses the basic principles and latest developments in nature-inspired sensing and biosensing materials, along with the design and mechanisms for analyzing their potential in multifunctional sensing applications. Sections provide a comprehensive review of certain fundamental mechanisms in different living creatures including humans, animals, and plants. In addition, the book presents and discusses ways for imitating various nature-inspired structural features and their functional properties such as hierarchical, interlocked, porous, bristle-like structures, and hetero-layered brick-and-mortar structures. Sections also highlight the utility of these structures and their properties for sensing functions, which include static coloration, self-cleaning, adhesive, underwater navigation and object detection, electric charge generation, and sensitive olfactory functions for detecting various substances. This is followed by an appraisal of accumulating knowledge and its translation from the laboratory to the point-of-care phase, using selective sensors as well as desktop and wearable artificial sensing devices, e.g., electronic noses and electronic skins, in conjunction with AI-assisted data processing and decision-making in the targeted field of application. - Discusses current strategies for fabricating nature-derived bio/chemical sensors - Presents ways to apply nature-derived bio/chemical sensors in real life - Discusses the future of nature derived bio/chemical sensors