Pilot lab pioneers gesture control over robots

The sensors have been developed at a pilot laboratory at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), a facility that allows the rapid prototyping ultrathin and stretchable soft electronics that detect bioelectric signals from skin, muscles and organs, and transmit these signals to control robots or other electronic devices.

NTU researchers developed these soft electronics devices by combining in-house designed soft materials and processes with commercially available hardware components.

This hybrid combination allows the NTU team to integrate many types of sensors on the market, such as wireless connectivity, accelerometer, temperature sensing, and monitoring vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and more.

Encased in a gel-like skin, the sensors are soft, flexible and stretchable. They adhere to the skin, enable joint movement, and come in various sizes and thicknesses, ranging from centimetres to sub-microns.

Leading these developments, NTU Professor Chen Xiaodong has been a pioneer in soft electronics over the last decade and holds over 50 patents.