The sense of touch is often neglected in human-interactive technologies which manifests in adverse effects (ranging from dissatisfaction to depression) within our technology-saturated society. This is urgent as virtual reality is becoming increasing popular, while haptics will make the virtual world more accessible to people with (deaf)blindness. Therefore, we aim to develop wearable devices capable of delivering natural and localized haptic sensations on human skin.

Technology

Our technology will be based on liquid crystal polymers (LCPs), renowned for their anisotropic deformations and thermal expansion coefficients that exhibit both negative and positive values upon heating. Previous studies have demonstrated the creation of morphing surfaces that transition between flat and pre-designed corrugated states using this collective molecular motion mechanism.

Approach

In this proposal, we aim to build on this fundamental research by optimizing LCPs for electrically-driven haptic functions. Based on this work, we will develop an in-plane electronic driving system to drive our LCPs, converting electrical cues into haptic signals. Thus, our fundamental research will unlock new dimensions of human-machine interaction, where touch becomes a language of its own.