POS5-0756
Programming of Anisotropic Responses in Piezoelectric Composite Sensors towards Perception-Embodied Soft Robots
When and Where
Nov 30, -0001
00:00 - 00:00
Presenter(s)
Yubin Kim (Gwanju Institute of Science and Technology)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Over the past decade, piezoelectric composites have emerged as powerful platforms for self-powered tactile perception, owing to their direct conversion of mechanical deformation into electrical signals. Advances in materials design and device engineering have delivered high sensitivity, flexibility, and integrability for wearable electronics, human–machine interfaces, and soft robotics. Yet, a key limitation remains unresolved: most piezoelectric tactile sensors detect only mechanical events, but they do not intrinsically identify the deformation mode that generated response signals. Pressing, bending, and actuation-induced strain can therefore produce response crosstalk, thus making it difficult to distinguish external contact from robotic motions. This cross-axis ambiguity weakens tactile reliability in dynamic, contact-rich environments to which force-mode discrimination is essential for physical intelligence and closed-loop robotic control. Here, we report a magnetically programmable piezoelectric composite in which ferroelectric nanowires are axially aligned within a polymer matrix. Under an external magnetic field, the nanowires rotate and orient along prescribed directions, and these aligned nanowires act as anisotropic stress-concentrating elements and preferentially generate selective electrical outputs when stimulus is parallel to their axial direction. Based on the force vector selectivity, we designed perception-embodied soft robots which integrate proprioceptive units at hinge zones and exteroceptive units at arm centers. This spatially and directionally encoded structure enables selective readout of force vectors, allowing the robot to distinguish folding actuation from contact with a target object without cross-axis interference. Our results establish magnetic alignment of ferroelectric nanowires as a practical route to force-mode-selective tactile perception and provide a materials-level strategy for soft robots with sensory intelligence.
