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Researchers on the Harvard John A. Paulson College of Engineering and Utilized Sciences (SEAS) have developed a tender, stretchable, self-powered thermometer that may be built-in into sensible robots and stretchable electronics.
The analysis was printed within the Proceedings of the Nationwide Academy of Sciences.
Zhigang Suo is an Allen E. and Marilyn M. Puckett Professor of Mechanics and Supplies at SEAS and senior creator of the paper.
“Now we have developed tender temperature sensors with excessive sensitivity and fast response time, opening new prospects to create new human-machine interfaces and tender robots in healthcare, engineering and leisure,” mentioned Suo.
Construction of the Thermometer
The thermometer has three components: an electrolyte, an electrode, and a dielectric materials that separates them. The electrolyte/dielectric interface accumulates ions, and the dielectric/electrode interface accumulates electrodes.
With the cost imbalance between the 2, it ends in an ionic cloud within the electrolyte. This ionic cloud then modifications thickness and generates voltage when the temperature modifications. Whereas the voltage is delicate to temperature, it’s insensitive to stretch.
Customizing the Sensor
Yecheng Wang is a postdoctoral fellow at SEAS and first creator of the paper.
“As a result of the design is so easy, there are such a lot of alternative ways to customise the sensor, relying on the appliance,” mentioned Wang. “You possibly can select completely different supplies, organized in numerous methods and optimized for various duties.”
The researchers may organize the electrolyte, dielectric, and electrode in numerous configurations, which resulted in 4 designs for the temperature sensor. They examined it by first integrating the sensor right into a tender gripper earlier than measuring the temperature of a sizzling laborious boiled egg. The sensors have been extra delicate than conventional thermoelectric thermometers, they usually have been ready to answer modifications in temperature inside 10 milliseconds.
“We demonstrated that these sensors will be made small, secure, and even clear,” mentioned Wang.
The thermometer can measure temperatures of as much as 200 levels Celsius or as chilly as -100 levels Celsius relying on which supplies are used.
“This extremely customizable platform may usher in new developments to allow and enhance the web of every little thing and everybody,” mentioned Suo.
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