Kavli Affiliate: Chiara Daraio
| First 5 Authors: Seola Lee, Seola Lee, , ,
| Summary:
Wearable electronics are emerging as essential tools for health monitoring,
haptic feedback, and human-computer interactions. While stable contact at the
device-body interface is critical for these applications, it remains
challenging due to the skin’s softness, roughness, and mechanical variability.
Existing methods, such as grounding structures or adhesive tapes, often suffer
from contact loss, limited repeatability, and restrictions on the types of
electronics they can support. Suction-based adhesives offer a promising
alternative by generating negative pressure without requiring tight bands or
chemical adhesives. However, most existing cup designs rely on rigid-surface
assumptions and overlook mechanical interactions between suction cups and skin.
Inspired by traditional cupping therapies, we present a suction-based adhesive
system that attaches through elastic deformation and recovery. Using analytical
modeling, numerical simulations, and experiments, we present a mechanics-based
framework showing how suction performance depends on cup geometry, substrate
compliance, and interfacial adhesion. We show that cup geometry should be
tailored to substrate stiffness. Wide, flat suction cups perform well on rigid
surfaces but fail on soft ones like skin due to substrate intrusion into the
chamber. Narrow and tall domes better preserve recoverable volume and generate
stronger suction. To improve sealing on rough, dry skin, we introduce a soft,
tacky interfacial layer informed by a contact mechanics model. Using our design
principles for skin suction adhesives, we demonstrate secure attachment of
rigid and flexible components including motion sensors, haptic actuators, and
electrophysiological electrodes across diverse anatomical regions. These
findings provide a fundamental basis for designing the next generation of
skin-friendly adhesives for wearable electronics.
| Search Query: ArXiv Query: search_query=au:”Chiara Daraio”&id_list=&start=0&max_results=3