Flexible Electronic Skins for Sensing and Haptic Actuation

Mechanoreceptors in the skin present compelling targets for selective and noninvasive neural interfaces. This presentation summarizes our recent work in systems for independently rendering sensations in these afferent channels using miniaturized mechanical actuators configured in programmable, dense arrays as untethered, wearable devices. The actuators combine with the skin as an elastic, energy storing module to support bistable, self-sensing modes for inducing controlled deformations at the surface of the skin. The result renders both dynamic and static stimuli, through either normal or shear forces. Studies in the context of rehabilitation with human subjects demonstrate this wireless, skin-conformable haptic array as an interface to a physical environment, reconstructed and tracked from an advanced suite of smartphone-based sensors. The diversity in modes of engagement, the density of power delivery, and the efficiency in operation of these small-scale mechanical transducers represent key, enabling advances over alternatives based on electrostatic, pneumatic, and electromagnetic approaches.