Soft Transducers for Human-Machine Interaction

Human-machine and human-human virtual interactions have presented a growing area for different kinds of soft transducers including sensors and actuators. However, there are still challenges for soft transducers in their performance. For soft sensors, one key challenge is how to make them super sensitive to external stimuli (pressing, stretching, etc) and small (lightweight and thin). For soft actuators, one key challenge is to drive them with low voltage amplitude and generate high output force. In this talk, I will present my work on electret materials based soft transducers that can serve as both pressure sensors and vibrotactile actuators. I will discuss how I design theses soft transducers and apply them in human-machine interactions.