I-Corps: Stretchable Lightguides for Multimodal Sensing

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发多功能、可拉伸的传感器。这些传感器可用于测量变形，如挤压、拉伸和弯曲。当集成到服装或服装中时，它们可能会对各种不同的行业产生影响。例如，在健身可穿戴设备市场，它们可能被用来测量肌肉疲劳和监测肌肉随时间的增长，在医疗保健市场，它们可能被用作床单，以防止压疮。在虚拟现实/增强现实中，传感器可以通过测量接触力和提供运动跟踪来改进训练，在汽车行业中，传感器可以作为汽车座椅的一部分来监控车内乘客的行为，并指示车内是否有儿童。最后，在机器人工业中，可伸缩传感器可能会给机器人带来触觉。这个I-Corps项目是基于多功能可拉伸传感器的开发，称为可拉伸多模态传感光导（SLIMS）。SLIMS技术通过使用光学方法改善了单个可拉伸传感器的功能。通过在广谱输入中使用波长的强度和色度变化，这些传感器可以区分机械变形的模式，如拉伸、按压和弯曲，以及检测此类变形的大小和位置。由于这些传感器是软的，依靠光子学，而不是电子作为传感方式，它们是可清洗的，对电磁干扰不敏感，不像它们的竞争对手。SLIMS解耦复杂变形的能力已经通过集成在无线3D打印手套上得到了证明，每个手指都有一个SLIMS。发光（信号）能够实时重建手指上的三个关节角度，同时检测手指上的外部压力的位置和力度。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of multifunctional, stretchable sensors. These sensors may be used to measure deformations such as pressing, stretching and bending. When integrated into garments or clothes, they may have an impact in a variety of different industries. For example, in the fitness wearables market, they may be used to measure muscle fatigue and to monitor muscle growth over time, in the healthcare market they may be used as bed sheets to prevent pressure ulcers. In the virtual reality/augmented reality the sensors may be used to improve training by measuring contact forces as well as offering motion tracking, and in the automotive industry as part of car seats to monitor in-vehicle passenger behavior as well as to indicate child presence in the car. Finally, in robotics industry the stretchable sensors may give robots the sense of touch. This I-Corps project is based on the development of multifunctional stretchable sensors termed Stretchable Lightguides for Multimodal Sensing (SLIMS). SLIMS technology improves the functionalities of a single stretchable sensor by using an optical approach. By using intensity and chromaticity changes of wavelengths throughout a broad spectrum input, these sensors can differentiate the mode of a mechanical deformation such as stretching, pressing and bending, as well as detect the magnitude and location of such deformations. Since these sensors are soft and rely on photonics, rather than electronics as the sensing modality, they are washable and insensitive to electromagnetic interference unlike their competitors. SLIMS’ ability to decouple complex deformations has been demonstrated through integration on a wireless 3D printed glove, where each finger has one SLIMS. The glow (signal) was able to reconstruct in real time the three joint angles on the finger as well as simultaneously detect the location and force of external pressure on the finger.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.