Sustainable Soft Electronic and Robotic Systems: From Biodegradable Gels to Mycelium-Based Electronic Skins
Sprache des Vortragstitels:
Englisch
Original Tagungtitel:
EMRS - European Materials Research Society
Sprache des Tagungstitel:
Englisch
Original Kurzfassung:
In contemporary societies, there is a heavy reliance on electronic and robotic systems. The advent of stretchable and soft devices has facilitated closer human-machine interactions; however, these advancements have had a detrimental impact on the environment. To mitigate some of these adverse effects, this talk presents materials and methods for biodegradable soft systems. These systems are based on highly stretchable biogels and degradable polymer elastomers, resulting in soft electronics and robots that can operate for extended periods under ambient conditions without fatigue. Additionally, they can fully degrade after use through biological triggers. These systems also enable autonomous operation, battery-powered wearable sensors, and 3D printing of biodegradable hydrogels for the development of omnidirectional soft robots with advanced optical sensing capabilities. The talk also presents a systematically determined set of compatible materials systems for the creation of fully biodegradable, high-performance electrohydraulic soft actuators. These actuators can operate reliably at high electric fields, display performance comparable to non-biodegradable counterparts, and survive more than 100,000 actuation cycles. Furthermore, the talk demonstrates a concept for the growth and processing of fungal mycelium skins as biodegradable substrate material. These mycelium-based batteries can power autonomous sensing devices such as Bluetooth modules and humidity and proximity sensors, all integrated onto mycelium circuit boards.
Forschungs-