Recent Advances and Opportunities of Active Materials for Haptic Technologies in Virtual and Augmented Reality

Virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR) are evolving. The market demands and innovation efforts call for a shift in the key VR/AR technologies and engaging people virtually. Tele-haptics with multimodal and bilateral interactions are emerging as the future of the VR/AR industry. By transmitting and receiving haptic sensations wirelessly, tele-haptics allow human-to-human interactions beyond the traditional VR/AR interactions. The core technologies for tele-haptics include multimodal tactile sensing and feedback based on highly advanced sensors and actuators. Recent developments of haptic innovations based on active materials show that active materials can significantly contribute to addressing the needs and challenges for the current and future VR/AR technologies. Thus, this paper intends to review the current status and opportunities of active material-based haptic technology with a focus on VR/AR applications. It first provides an overview of the current VR/AR applications of active materials for haptic sensing and actuation. It then highlights the state-of-the-art haptic interfaces that are relevant to the materials with an aim to provide perspectives on the role of active materials and their potential integration in haptic devices. This paper concludes with the perspective and outlook of immersive multimodal tele-haptic interaction technologies.     

Elastomeric Electronic Skin for Prosthetic Tactile Sensation

This report demonstrates a wearable elastomer‐based electronic skin including resistive sensors for monitoring finger articulation and capacitive tactile pressure sensors that register distributed pressure along the entire length of the finger. Pressure sensitivity in the order of 0.001 to 0.01 kPa^?1 for pressures from 5 to 405 kPa, which includes much of the range of human physiological sensing, is achieved by implementing soft, compressible silicone foam as the dielectric and stretchable thin‐metal films. Integrating these sensors in a textile glove allows the decoupling of the strain and pressure cross‐sensitivity of the tactile sensors, enabling precise grasp analysis. The sensorized glove is implemented in a human‐in‐the‐loop system for controlling the grasp of objects, a critical step toward hand prosthesis with integrated sensing capabilities.     

MEMS微加速度与微角速率集成传感器的研制

介绍了一种全新的MEMS微型惯性器件,该器件是一种基于热对流原理的热膜式传感器,它利用一个单敏感元件同时测量加速度和角速率。该器件由一个加热器和两组微型温度传感器组成,加热器加热气体形成的热对流气体作为敏感元件,该器件通过微型温度传感器测得的热对流气体的温度差实现加速度和角速率的测量。分析了器件的工作原理,根据仿真结果设计了双层的器件结构,进行了工艺开发,加工出了原理样机。测试表明:该器件同时具备了加速度传感器和角速率传感器的检测功能,很好地验证了设计的可行性。     

MEMS热膜式微型流量传感器的研制

针对微型流量传感器的应用问题,提出了一种可以准确测量各种气体微型流量、基于MEMS工艺的新型MEMS热膜式传感器。基于热量传递原理的热膜式流量传感器由一个加热器和一对微型温度传感器组成,只要测得两个温度传感器的温度差值,就能得到气体的流量。分析了该器件的原理并进行了ANSYS仿真,设计了器件的结构,进行MEMS工艺开发,制作出可实用化的产品。测试表明,该器件的测量量程达到0.5～200m3/h,精度1.5级,响应时间20ms,量程比1:400,显示该器件测量流量的功能达到了实用化水平。     

Encapsulation of Semiconductor Gas Sensors with Gas Barrier Films for USN Application

Sensor nodes in ubiquitous sensor networks require autonomous replacement of deteriorated gas sensors with reserved sensors, which has led us to develop an encapsulation technique to avoid poisoning the reserved sensors and an autonomous activation technique to replace a deteriorated sensor with a reserved sensor. Encapsulations of In₂O₃ nanoparticles with poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) or polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) as gas barrier layers are reported. The EVOH or PVDF films are used for an encapsulation of In2O3 as a sensing material and are effective in blocking In2O3 from contacting formaldehyde (HCHO) gas. The activation process of In2O3 by removing the EVOH through heating is effective. However, the thermal decomposition of the PVDF affects the property of the In₂O₃ in terms of the gas reactivity. The response of the sensor to HCHO gas after removing the EVOH is 26%, which is not significantly different with the response of 28% in a reference sample that was not treated at all. We believe that the selection of gas barrier materials for the encapsulation and activation of In2O3 should be considered because of the ill effect the byproduct of thermal decomposition has on the sensing materials and other thermal properties of the barrier materials.     

Stretchable Skin‐Like Cooling/Heating Device for Reconstruction of Artificial Thermal Sensation in Virtual Reality

Along with visual and tactile sensations, thermal sensation by temperature feeling on the skin can provide rich physical information on the environment and objects. With a simple touch of objects, relative temperature can be sensed and even objects can be differentiated with different thermal properties without any visual cue. Thus, artificially reproducing accurate/controllable thermal sensation haptic signals on human epidermis will certainly be a major research area to reconstruct a more realistic virtual reality (VR) environment. In this study, for the first time, a skin‐like, highly soft and stretchable and bi‐functional (both cold and hot sensation) thermo‐haptic device is reported for wearable VR applications with a single device structure (not separate heater and cooler). The skin‐like thermo‐haptic (STH) device can actively cool down and heat up deformable skin surfaces with instantaneous and accurate adjustment of temperature based upon a feedback control algorithm to mimic desirable thermal sensation with 230% stretchability. As a proof‐of‐concept, the STH device is integrated with a finger‐motion tracking glove to provide artificial thermal sensation information to the skin in various situations such as touching cold beer bottles and hot coffee cups in virtual space. This new type of STH device can offer potential implications for next‐generation haptic devices to provide unique thermal information for a more realistic virtual‐world field and medical thermal treatment.     

基于BJT特性的数字温度传感器发展现状及趋势

随着工业物联网趋向数字化、智能化和集成化发展,控制系统需要感知的物理量规模和复杂度都迅速提升。其中数字温度传感器能直接将温度信息转换为数字信号,具有低成本、低功耗、面积小、数字输出等多种优点,可以实时监测系统温度数据,并与反馈机制协同进行反馈调节,目前已经得到广泛应用。在各类数字温度传感器中,基于CMOS工艺寄生三极管(BJT)感温的数字温度传感器在制造工艺上更容易实现,且具有高稳定性和高精度,是工业界产品首选方案。聚焦基于BJT特性实现感温的数字温度传感器,从学术研究成果、工业产品两方面总结其技术路线、发展现状和趋势,为后续温度传感器研究提供参考。     

一维纳米SnO_2传感器对变压器油中气体的检测

为准确在线监测电力变压器油中溶解气体,预测其潜伏性故障,通过水热法合成了多种一维纳米SnO2材料,并以其作为气敏材料制作了旁热式气体传感器,研究了其对变压器油中析出气体乙炔的气敏性能。结果显示,各元件表现出不同的气敏性能,其中花状纳米SnO2对乙炔气体的敏感性能最优,在360℃的工作温度下,其对体积分数为1×10–4的乙炔的灵敏度达到38,响应和恢复时间分别为15 s和28 s。     

光纤传感器的研究及应用

介绍了光纤传感器与其他传感器相比的优点,还介绍了传感型光纤传感器与传光型光纤传感器的基本原理.同时,文章阐述了强度调制型光纤传感器、干涉型光纤传感器、光纤光栅和光纤声发射传感器的应用.文章最后提出了我国光纤传感技术存在的问题以及发展方向.     

Piezo displacement sensors for a compact high-speed x–y nanopositioner in differential actuation mode

An emerging actuation technique in piezo driven nanopositioners is differential actuation, where each axis has two opposing actuators that operate differentially and provide bilateral motion. It has simultaneous benefits of improving linearity and range of displacement. However, few methods for displacement sensing employing in-situ transducers have been considered for this kind of nanopositioners. We address a novel application of PZT piezoelectric chips for direct displacement sensing in differentially driven nanopositioners. First, an electromechanical force analysis is performed in order to increase the PZT sensor sensitivity through the structural design of the nanopositioner. Secondly, the sensing performances of the proposed in-situ PZT sensor are compared with those from an alternative built-in piezoresistive (PZR) strain gauge sensor under equal circumstances, in different sensing and actuation configurations. While the PZR sensor has a larger sensing bandwidth than the PZT one and performs better if the actuation frequency is smaller than 30 Hz, the PZT sensors provides better accuracy when the actuation is well within its sensing bandwidth. The accuracy of the differential sensors and the input-displacement linearity are improved when the mechanical preload force magnitudes on the opposing actuators are balanced. The differential PZT sensor can provide accurate measurements even in a non-differential mode after recalibration.     

Poisson Ratio and Piezoresistive Sensing: A New Route to High‐Performance 3D Flexible and Stretchable Sensors of Multimodal Sensing Capability

The performance of flexible and stretchable sensors relies on the optimization of both the flexible substrate and the sensing element, and their synergistic interactions. Herein, a novel strategy is reported for cost‐effective and scalable manufacturing of a new class of porous materials as 3D flexible and stretchable piezoresistive sensors, by assembling carbon nanotubes onto porous substrates of tunable Poisson ratios. It is shown that the piezoresistive sensitivity of the sensors increases as the substrate's Poisson's ratio decreases. Substrates with negative Poisson ratios (auxetic foams) exhibit significantly higher piezoresistive sensitivity, resulting from the coherent mode of deformation of the auxetic foam and enhanced changes of tunneling resistance of the carbon nanotube networks. Compared with conventional foam sensors, the auxetic foam sensor (AFS) with a Poisson's ratio of –0.5 demonstrates a 300% improvement in piezoresistive sensitivity and the gauge factor increases as much as 500%. The AFS has high sensing capability, is extremely robust, and capable of multimodal sensing, such as large deformation sensing, pressure sensing, shear/torsion sensing, and underwater sensing. AFS shows great potential for a broad range of wearable and portable devices applications, which are described by reporting on a series of demonstrations.     

Wearable Soft Technologies for Haptic Sensing and Feedback

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) systems have garnered recent widespread attention due to increased accessibility, functionality, and affordability. These systems sense user inputs and typically provide haptic, audio, and visual feedback to blend interactive virtual environments with the real world for an enhanced or simulated reality experience. With applications ranging from immersive entertainment, to teleoperation, to physical therapy, further development of this technology has the potential for impact across multiple disciplines. However, VR/AR devices still face critical challenges that hinder integration into everyday life and additional applications; namely, the rigid and cumbersome form factor of current technology that is incompatible with the dynamic movements and pliable limbs of the human body. Recent advancements in the field of soft materials are uniquely suited to provide solutions to this challenge. Devices fabricated from flexible and elastic bio-compatible materials have significantly greater compatibility with the human body and could lead to a more natural VR/AR experience. This review reports state-of-the-art experimental studies in soft materials for wearable sensing and haptic feedback in VR/AR applications, explores emerging soft technologies for on-body devices, and identifies current challenges and future opportunities toward seamless integration of the virtual and physical world.     

Microfluidic Fabrication of Capsule Sensor Platform with Double‐Shell Structure

Metal nanoparticles are frequently employed for the colorimetric detection of specific target molecules using an aggregation‐induced shift of the localized surface plasmon resonance. However, metal nanoparticles dispersed in bulk solutions are prone to be contaminated by adhesive molecules and the dispersions tend to be diluted by sample fluids, restricting direct application to unpurified pristine samples. Here, a versatile capsule sensor platform is proposed that can encompass a variety of different types of nanoparticle‐based sensors. The capsule sensors are microfluidically prepared to obtain close control over their dimensions and composition. Their aqueous cores that are loaded with sensing materials are surrounded by an ultrathin inner oil shell and an outer hydrogel shell. The hydrogel shell prevents the diffusion of large adhesive molecules into the core, thereby preventing contamination of the sensing materials. The oil shell is selectively permeable such that it further improves the sensor selectivity. Importantly, these shells confine the sensing materials and prevent them from being diluted, securing a consistent optical property. Moreover, the capsule‐based sensors display a higher sensitivity than bulk dispersions because a smaller amount of sensing materials is used. The power of nanoparticle‐loaded capsule sensors is demonstrated using lysine‐coated gold nanoparticles to detect mercury ions.     

Expanding the Horizon of Mechanochromic Detection by Luminescent Shear Stress Sensor Supraparticles

Novel sensor particles have been developed that expand the variety of today's mechanochromic systems. The developed supraparticles consist of several different components to enable the sensor function. First, a luminescence‐quenching core material is coated with silica nanoparticles. Second, this structure is surrounded by raspberry‐like nanostructured silica particles, which host luminophore moieties. Upon shear stress, components spatially separated in the original supraparticles, namely quencher and luminophore components, come into contact. This causes an irreversible quenching of the luminescence (sensor turn‐off). Different options to select core, quencher, and luminophore components allow to drive the sensors to different sensing options regarding response time, sensitivity, and operation time. The sensors can be sensitive and rapid in response or generated to monitor the influence of shear stress over longer periods of time. Thus, a rapid, visible, “on‐the‐fly” sensing of shear stress is possible as well as monitoring the impact of prolonged shear stress. The particles are assembled by spray‐drying. This affords flexibility when choosing the type of quencher and luminophore moiety. As such, the sensitivity of this robust, particle‐based shear stress sensor system can be deliberately configured. Furthermore, the supraparticle sensor can be integrated in surfaces to create interactive, communicating materials.     

A fingerprint sensor based on the feedback capacitive sensingscheme

This paper introduces a single-chip, 200×200-element sensor array implemented in a standard two-metal digital CMOS technology. The sensor is able to grab the fingerprint pattern without any use of optical and mechanical adaptors. Using this integrated sensor, the fingerprint is captured at a rate of 10 F/s by pressing the finger skin onto the chip surface. The fingerprint pattern is sampled by capacitive sensors that detect the electric field variation induced by the skin surface. Several design issues regarding the capacitive sensing problem are reported and the feedback capacitive sensing scheme (FCS) is introduced. More specifically, the problem of the charge injection in MOS switches has been revisited for charge amplifier design     

Emerging Thermal Technology Enabled Augmented Reality

In the past decade, remarkable progress has been made in the domain of augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR). The need for realistic and immersive augmentation has propelled the development of haptics interfaces-enabled AR/VR. The haptics interfaces facilitate direct interaction and manipulation with both real and virtual objects, thus augmenting the perception and experiences of the users. The level of augmentation can be significantly improved by thermal stimulation or sensing, which facilitates a higher degree of object identification and discrimination. This review discusses the thermal technology-enabled augmented reality and summarizes the recent progress in the development of different thermal technology such as thermal haptics including thermo-resistive heater and Peltier devices, thermal sensors including resistive, pyroelectric, and thermoelectric sensors, which can be utilized to improve the realism of augmentation. The fundamental mechanism, design strategies, and the rational guidelines for the adoption of these technologies in AR/VR is explicitly discussed. The conclusion provides an outlook on the existing challenges and outlines the future roadmap for the realization of next-generation thermo-haptics enabled augmented reality.     

Semiconductor‐Type MEMS Gas Sensor for Real‐Time Environmental Monitoring Applications

Low power consuming and highly responsive semiconductor‐type microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) gas sensors are fabricated for real‐time environmental monitoring applications. This subsystem is developed using a gas sensor module, a Bluetooth module, and a personal digital assistant (PDA) phone. The gas sensor module consists of a NO₂ or CO gas sensor and signal processing chips. The MEMS gas sensor is composed of a microheater, a sensing electrode, and sensing material. Metal oxide nanopowder is drop‐coated onto a substrate using a microheater and integrated into the gas sensor module. The change in resistance of the metal oxide nanopowder from exposure to oxidizing or deoxidizing gases is utilized as the principle mechanism of this gas sensor operation. The variation detected in the gas sensor module is transferred to the PDA phone by way of the Bluetooth module.     

Low-Dimensional Black Phosphorus in Sensor Applications: Advances and Challenges

Low-dimensional black phosphorus (LDBP) materials have emerged, with considerable application potential in sensing due to their unique folded structures and remarkable physicochemical properties. These include anisotropies, layer-dependent and tunable band gaps, high carrier mobilities, high current switching ratios, and excellent electron donor capacities. As a type of supporting material that is favorable to signal transmission or reception, LDBP is widely researched in piezoelectric, flexible, chemical, and biomolecular sensors. This review summarizes the synthetic methods, properties, and modification strategies of LDBP, and then mainly focuses on the research progress in LDBP-based sensor applications, including physical and chemical sensors and biosensors. The major issues in LDBP-based sensor applications are also discussed. Finally, the prospects and challenges in the field of LDBP-based sensors are analyzed.     

基于协方差控制的集中式传感器分配算法研究

传感器管理是对一组传感器或测量设备进行自动化或半自动化控制的一种处理过程,它实现了探测性能的优化和资源的有效利用.该文建立了传感器管理的一般最优化模型,研究了基于协方差控制策略的传感器分配问题,详细讨论了其实现方法,并给出三种基于不同矩阵度量的传感器分配算法.仿真结果表明,使用基于协方差控制的传感器分配算法可以进行良好的传感器管理,节约传感器资源.     

Stretchable and Temperature‐Sensitive Polymer Optical Fibers for Wearable Health Monitoring

Stretchable physical sensors that can detect and quantify human physiological signals such as temperature, are essential to the realization of healthcare devices for biomedical monitoring and human–machine interfaces. Despite recent achievements in stretchable electronic sensors using various conductive materials and structures, the design of stretchable sensors in optics remains a considerable challenge. Here, an optical strategy for the design of stretchable temperature sensors, which can maintain stable performance even under a strain deformation up to 80%, is reported. The optical temperature sensor is fabricated by the incorporation of thermal‐sensitive upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) in stretchable polymer‐based optical fibers (SPOFs). The SPOFs are made from stretchable elastomers and constructed in a step‐index core/cladding structure for effective light confinements. The UCNPs, incorporated in the SPOFs, provide thermal‐sensitive upconversion emissions at dual wavelengths for ratiometric temperature sensing by near‐infrared excitation, while the SPOFs endow the sensor with skin‐like mechanical compliance and excellent light‐guiding characteristics for laser delivery and emission collection. The broad applications of the proposed sensor in real‐time monitoring of the temperature and thermal activities of the human body, providing optical alternatives for wearable health monitoring, are demonstrated.