Printable Nanosensors



At Yeadon Space Agency, we’ve been working on strong, flexible composites that are made with nanostructured materials and can conduct electricity. The work is important because advancements in responsive products and environments will increasingly require lightweight, flexible, electrical networks with remote, ubiquitous sensing.

In this video, we are showing a sensor that we’ve created, which can indicate when a material is experiencing deformation. By integrating carbon nanotubes into the bulk matrix of a material, such as textiles or concrete, the material itself becomes the sensor. When electricity is passed through the material, its resistance will change if the material is strained. Now, imagine being able to create an intelligent structure that can identify cracks that might be developing, and warn us of potential dangers.


Music Credit: “Stale Mate” by Jingle Punks