Bioelastic state recovery for haptic sensory substitution

Matthew T Flavin; Kyoung-Ho Ha; Zengrong Guo; Shupeng Li; Jin-Tae Kim; Tara Saxena; Dimitrios Simatos; Fatimah Al-Najjar; Yuxuan Mao; Shishir Bandapalli; Chengye Fan; Dongjun Bai; Zhuang Zhang; Yanlin Zhang; Eunhye Flavin; Kenneth E Madsen; Yi Huang; Luoqian Emu; Jingyang Zhao; Jae-Young Yoo; Minsu Park; Jaeho Shin; Aaron G Huang; Hee-Sup Shin; J Edward Colgate; Yonggang Huang; Zhaoqian Xie; Hanqing Jiang; John A Rogers

doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08155-9

Bioelastic state recovery for haptic sensory substitution

Nature. 2024 Nov 6. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08155-9. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Matthew T Flavin^#^{1

2}, Kyoung-Ho Ha^#², Zengrong Guo^#³, Shupeng Li^#⁴, Jin-Tae Kim^#⁵, Tara Saxena⁴, Dimitrios Simatos², Fatimah Al-Najjar⁶, Yuxuan Mao^{4

7}, Shishir Bandapalli⁴, Chengye Fan⁴, Dongjun Bai^{8

9

10}, Zhuang Zhang³, Yanlin Zhang³, Eunhye Flavin¹¹, Kenneth E Madsen^{2

12}, Yi Huang³, Luoqian Emu³, Jingyang Zhao³, Jae-Young Yoo^{2

13}, Minsu Park¹⁴, Jaeho Shin^{2

15}, Aaron G Huang^{1

4}, Hee-Sup Shin², J Edward Colgate⁴, Yonggang Huang^{16

17

18}, Zhaoqian Xie^{19

20

21}, Hanqing Jiang^{22

23

24}, John A Rogers^{25

26

27

28

29}

Affiliations

¹ School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
² Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
³ School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
⁷ Institute of Biomedical Manufacturing and Life Quality Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis, Optimization and CAE Software for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China.
⁹ Department of Engineering Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China.
¹⁰ DUT-BSU Joint Institute, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China.
¹¹ Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹² Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
¹³ Department of Semiconductor Convergence Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
¹⁴ Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Dankook University, Yongin, Republic of Korea.
¹⁵ Molecular Recognition Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
¹⁶ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. [email protected].
¹⁷ Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. [email protected].
¹⁸ Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. [email protected].
¹⁹ State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis, Optimization and CAE Software for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China. [email protected].
²⁰ Department of Engineering Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China. [email protected].
²¹ DUT-BSU Joint Institute, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China. [email protected].
²² School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China. [email protected].
²³ Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China. [email protected].
²⁴ Research Center for Industries of the Future and School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, China. [email protected].
²⁵ Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. [email protected].
²⁶ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. [email protected].
²⁷ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. [email protected].
²⁸ Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. [email protected].
²⁹ Department of Neurological Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 39506124
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08155-9

Abstract

The rich set of mechanoreceptors found in human skin^1,2 offers a versatile engineering interface for transmitting information and eliciting perceptions^3,4, potentially serving a broad range of applications in patient care⁵ and other important industries^6,7. Targeted multisensory engagement of these afferent units, however, faces persistent challenges, especially for wearable, programmable systems that need to operate adaptively across the body^8-11. Here we present a miniaturized electromechanical structure that, when combined with skin as an elastic, energy-storing element, supports bistable, self-sensing modes of deformation. Targeting specific classes of mechanoreceptors as the basis for distinct, programmed sensory responses, this haptic unit can deliver both dynamic and static stimuli, directed as either normal or shear forces. Systematic experimental and theoretical studies establish foundational principles and practical criteria for low-energy operation across natural anatomical variations in the mechanical properties of human skin. A wireless, skin-conformable haptic interface, integrating an array of these bistable transducers, serves as a high-density channel capable of rendering input from smartphone-based 3D scanning and inertial sensors. Demonstrations of this system include sensory substitution designed to improve the quality of life for patients with visual and proprioceptive impairments.