A soft future - From Electronic Skins and Triboelectric Nanogenerators to Autonomous Wearables and Soft Robots

Deformable and wearable soft devices (including sensors, electronics, and machines) have attracted huge interest because they cannot only extend the scope of smart systems but also provide compliant and safer user experience. Operating those devices inevitably need power sources. However, traditional batteries suffer from heavy weight, bulky volume, and limited capacity and lifetime, hindering the practical uses of those emerging devices. Toward the soft future, it is necessary to explore new energy and electronics technology. In this talk, deformable and mechanically-durable energy-harvesting nanogenerators will be demonstrated for not only serving as new energy providers but also self-powered e-skin uses. First, super-stretchable triboelectric nanogenerators will be presented for generating electricity by contacting with other materials regardless of various extreme deformation required from uses, such as extreme stretching, multiple twists and folds. Surprising, even experiencing severe tearing damages, the device can retain its functionality. Such technology can be introduced into fabrics for wearable energy and sensing uses. Then, we will discuss the use in self-powered and deformable electronic skins that can actively sense proximity, contact, and pressure to external stimuli via self-generating electricity. The perfect integration of the tribo-skins and soft actuators enables soft robots to perform various actively sensing and interactive tasks including actively perceiving their muscle motions and working states, checking baby diaper conditions, and even detecting subtle human physiological signals. The self-generating signals enable visual communication and can be processed for diverse sophisticated uses. Then, let’s imagine a self-healing robotics in science fiction turning into reality. We will show you a self-healing, highly-transparent, and super-stretchable device with energy-extracting and activity-sensing abilities. Finally, a new energy harvesting technology that can convert ambient electromagnetic energy into available electricity for soft devices will be presented. These works will inspire you lots of great ideas and show tremendous potentials of wearable/stretchable/deformable electronics, artificial e-skins, smart interfaces, and soft robots.