The inculcation of bioinspiration in sensing and human–machine interface (HMI) technologies can lead to distinctive characteristics such as conformability, low power consumption, high sensitivity, and unique properties like self-healing, self-cleaning, and adaptability. Both sensing and HMI are fields rife with opportunities for the application of bioinspired nanomaterials, particularly when it comes to wearable sensory systems where biocompatibility is an additional requirement. This review discusses recent development in bioinspired nanomaterials for wearable sensing and HMIs, with a specific focus on state-of-the-art bioinspired capacitive sensors, piezoresistive sensors, piezoelectric sensors, triboelectric sensors, magnetoelastic sensors, and electrochemical sensors. We also present a comprehensive overview of the challenges that have hindered the scientific advancement in academia and commercialization in the industry.

Monitoring physiological signals of the human body can provide extremely important information for sports healthcare, preventing injuries and providing efficient guidance for individual sports. However, the signals related to human healthcare involve both subtle and vigorous signals, making it difficult for a sensor to satisfy the full-scale monitoring at the same time. Here, a novel conductive elastomer featuring homogeneously micropyramid-structured PDMS/CNT composite is used to fabricate high-performance piezoresistive sensors by a drop-casting method. Benefiting from the significant increase in the contact area of microstructure during deformation, the flexible sensor presents a broad detection range (up to 185.5 kPa), fast response/recovery time (44/13 ms), ultrahigh sensitivity (242.4 kPa^–1) and excellent durability over 8,000 cycles. As a proof of concept, the as-fabricated pressure sensor can be used for body-area sports healthcare, and enable the detection of full-scale pressure distribution. Considering the fabulous sensing performance, the sensor may potentially become promising in personal sports healthcare and telemedicine monitoring.

Graphene oxide (GO), a derivative of graphene, is a novel carbon material that has attracted a lot of attention in the field of membrane materials as its ability to achieve layer-by-layer stacking and the formation of nanochannels between the lamellae makes it excellent for selective separation of substances. In this paper, the separation mechanism of the GO membrane is summarized. According to the different separation substances, the separation mechanism of graphene oxide membrane is reviewed from two aspects of metal ions and organic pollutants. Next, the preparation methods of graphene oxide membranes is introduced, such as spin-coating, vacuum filtration, dip-coating, spraying, and layer-by-layer self-assembly, followed by a review on the structural regulation of GO. Finally, this paper concludes with an overview of the potential development prospects and challenges of GO membranes.