Stretchable Optical Waveguides for Artificial Skin – OPTISKIN

The goal of this project is to fabricate pressure and temperature sensors based on stretchable optical waveguide for artificial skin applications. This research program aims to achieve a paradigm shift through advanced optical sensors in order to transform technology for tactile and temperature sensing in human-machine interface. The main advantage of the system presented in this proposal is the development of a fully stretchable sensor.

Compared to rigid, hard conventional electronics, stretchable electronic systems can be stretched, compressed, bent, and deformed into arbitrary shapes without variations in response. Therefore, stretchable electronic systems have many important and emerging bio-inspired applications related to innovative interfacing with soft and curved objects, such as human skin or robotic. One challenge with stretchable devices, however, is the limited availability of high performance stretchable conductors and semiconductors.

Contrary to currently developed stretchable electronic skin devices, stretchable optical devices present superior mechanical properties since they do not require metallic conductors. The sensing active area is only based on a stretchable waveguide and presents almost no mechanical limitations. By merging optical and stretchable materials, the OPTISKIN project intends to establish stretchable optics as a field of research; this represents a great scientific interest associated with a high potential for applications such as robotic or prosthetic.