Triboelectric Tactile Sensors for Embodied Intelligence: Design, Performances, and Applications

Embodied intelligence is driving artificial intelligence from digital reasoning toward real physical interaction, while tactile perception capabilities lag behind algorithmic advances and have become a critical bottleneck restricting the practical implementation of robotic closed-loop interaction. We propose that triboelectric event-driven tactile sensing can serve as a tactile information acquisition strategy for embodied intelligence. With its distinctive characteristics of mechanically triggered output and self-powered operation, it provides a new route to overcoming the limitations of signal acquisition, transmission, and power supply in complex environments and under high-density deployment. Based on this perspective, this review centers on triboelectric event-driven tactile sensing and systematically discusses the implementation pathways of triboelectric tactile sensors for embodied intelligence from four aspects: the conversion mechanisms from tactile events to electrical signals, material and structural design, key deployment performance, and embodied interactive applications. Particular emphasis is placed on revealing the intrinsic relationships among design strategies, deployment capabilities, and scenario adaptability. Finally, this review further discusses the key challenges and future directions that must still be addressed for triboelectric event-driven tactile sensing to advance from device-level performance optimization toward an event-driven system-level perception paradigm.