An Intrinsically Stretchable Skin‐Adhesive Actuator With Structurally Anisotropic Multiphase Microarchitectures
Jihun Son, Gui Won Hwang, Jin‐Ho Choi, Minjin Kim, JoonHyeok Kang, Minwoo Song, Seung Hwan Jeon, Jinhyung Kim, Jaeha Park, Gwanghyun Jo, Tae‐Heon Yang, Changhyun Pang
Abstract
Skin-attachable actuators require robust adhesion and high-fidelity feedback to conform to the skin under extreme deformation, integrating seamlessly while minimizing damping effects for diverse practical applications. Current rigid haptic interfaces and soft dielectric materials are limited to operating effectively within specific resonance frequencies, exhibiting a mechanical mismatch with human skin, which reduces their effectiveness on highly deformable body parts and decreases the accuracy of vibration feedback. Moreover, intrinsically stretchable dielectric materials face challenges caused by layer integration and significant damping from single anisotropic architectures. Here, an intrinsically stretchable skin-adhesive actuator (ISSA) with a multiphase dielectric architecture is presented that combines an isotropic spring matrix and an anisotropic elastic damper matrix, achieving stable vibration performance beyond the resonance frequency. The intrinsically stretchable electrode with its hybrid 1D/0D percolated structure ensures adaptability and reliable performance under strains exceeding 500%, whereas the frog-inspired adhesive enhances skin conformity and breathability, providing robust shear strength (≈28.4 kPa) under extreme deformation. Owing to a seamlessly integrated design and ultralow modulus (<24 kPa), the skin-adhesive actuator closely conforms to the human skin, delivering high vibrational acceleration while ensuring biocompatibility and durability for transformative applications in soft robotics, human-machine interfaces, and haptic technologies.