E-tattoos and e-skins bridging humans and robots

The convergence of humans and robots holds promise for a sustainable future of our aging society. My group therefore focuses on engineering soft electronics that can be seamlessly integrated on either humans or robots to facilitate their understanding and interaction capabilities. We have invented and expanded e-tattoos,[1, 2] which are ultrathin and stretchable sensors and circuits that can conform to human skin like a temporary tattoo sticker. This talk will introduce various types of pre-[3-8] or on-body[9] fabricated e-tattoos for cardiovascular health[10-12] and brain performance[9, 13] monitoring. In parallel, we are investigating soft tactile sensing e-skins to provide robots with touch sensations similar to human skin. Despite extensive researches on e-skins, contamination of pressure readings by lateral stretch or shear force has been a persistent challenge.[14] Our recent work on Stretchable resistive-capacitive Hybrid Response Pressure Sensor (SHRPS) provides a novel solution to this issue.[15, 16] SHRPS mechanism is elucidated through analytical and numerical modeling and SHRPS application is demonstrated through an inflatable robotic probe checking human vital signs.[17, 18] With e-tattoos digitizing the human body and e-skins sensorizing the robots, we hope to bridge the gap between humans and robots for a symbiotic and sustainable future.