SK(IN)SPIRED ELECTRONICS AND THE ART OF (IM)PERFECTION

Description

Skin-inspired electronics is a novel evolution of electronics. It aims at mimicking the sensory properties of skin as well as its extreme mechanical compliance and elasticity, allowing large scale electronic devices to reversibly stretch like a rubber band while remaining fully functional. This stretchability is granted by using soft rubber-like substrates that exhibit elastic properties similar to the human skin as platform for such electronic skins. However, successful integration of typical hard and brittle electronic devices materials such as conductors or semiconductors onto such soft silicone rubber substrates represents a mechanical challenge and thus a source of a cornucopia of failed samples. These failed samples, however, are beautiful in their imperfection and while not functional, often resemble modern art. At the same time the origin of the imperfections is due to physical and mechanical properties that are often found in nature and thus can be described mathematically such as wrinkles, (mud)crack patterns or fractals. This talk illustrates what can go wrong when interfacing soft and hard materials and the physic of the origin of the imperfections.

Period	03 Jul 2025
Event title	XI ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Smart Structures and Materials SMART 2025
Event type	Conference
Location	Linz, AustriaShow on map