Organic Haptics: Materials for 2-Way Communication with Human Physiology
Darren Lipomi a
a University of California San Diego, Gilman Drive, 9500, San Diego, United States
Materials for Sustainable Development Conference (MATSUS)
Proceedings of nanoGe Spring Meeting 2022 (NSM22)
#OMIECs22. Organic mixed-ionic-electronic conductors and their application in Emerging Technologies
Online, Spain, 2022 March 7th - 11th
Organizers: Aristide Gumyusenge and Alexander Giovannitti
Invited Speaker, Darren Lipomi, presentation 291
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.nsm.2022.291
Publication date: 7th February 2022

Mechanical deformability underpins many of the advantages of semiconducting and stimuli-responsive polymers in applications from flexible solar cells to wearable devices for healthcare and virtual touch. The mechanical properties of these materials are, however, diverse, and the molecular characteristics that permit deformability while retaining function remain poorly understood. In this talk, I describe the ways in which molecular structure and solid-state packing structure govern the mechanical properties of organic semiconductors, especially of π-conjugated polymers. In particular, I describe how low modulus, good adhesion, and absolute extensibility prior to fracture enable robust performance. I will also present my group’s recent work on the intersection between the science of soft materials and the science of touch. This field, which we have named “organic haptics,” combines active polymers, contact mechanics, and psychophysics. We are beginning to understand the ways in which stick slip friction, adhesion, and capillary forces between planar surfaces and human skin affect the ways materials produce tactile objects in consciousness as mediated by the sense of touch. This work, which combines human subject experiments, laboratory mockups of human skin, and analytical models accounting for friction, has led to several important observations. In particular, we have elucidated the mechanism by which humans can differentiate hydrophilic from hydrophobic surfaces when bulk parameters such as hardness, roughness, and thermal conductivity are held constant. We have taken the insights from these psychophysical experiments to design new electroactive and ionically conductive materials to produce haptic biomaterials whose goal is to produce realistic sensations for applications in tactile therapy, instrumented prostheses, education and training, and virtual and augmented reality.

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