Research Overview

Wearable Sensors (Electronic textiles)

Based on fiber-based electronic sensors, various wearable electronics, particularly electronic textile, can be implemented. Simply by sawing the fiber-based mechanical sensors into typical textiles, gloves, and clothes, smart gloves which can wirelessly control a drone and robot can be successfully developed. Real-time pressure sensing textiles for monitoring shape and weigth of a passenger on a chair is another application of fiber sensors. In addition, numerous awesome applications will be demonstrated by SoBiLab.

Smart gloves (Human-machine interfaces

for Human-Machine interfaces

Smart clothes for wearable sensing

Lee et al. NPG Asia Materials (2016)

Lee et al. Advanced Materials (2015)

Lee et al. ACS NANO (2018)

Drone-controlling smart glove

Robot-controlling smart glove

Kim et al. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces  (2021)

Implantable Sensors (Electronic sutures)

1D fiber-based electronic devices have a unique advantage in biomedical or implantable applications thanks to the structural feature. Nevertheless, fiber electronics has been barely investigated in biomedical applications. SoBiLab aims to successfully apply 1D soft electronic devices to biomedical applications and bridge previous biomedical/implantable soft electronics with clinical applications. Several relevant projects are ongoing. Join us!

Multifunctional electronic suture

In-vivo strain sensing electronic suture

Bioresorbable electronic suture

Lee et al. Nature Electronics (2021)

Lee et al. Nanoscale (2021)

1D Soft sensors

It has been practically difficult to apply previous planar (2D) electronic devices to complex (1D or 3D) structures of various wearable applications mainly due to the structural mismatch in between. In particular, textile electronics, one of main directions for future wearable electronics, greatly demands a new type of electronic device with superior compliance with textiles and better deformability. Fiber electronics is a perfect candidate for achieving the future wearable electronics and smart textiles! SoBiLab has world-leading expertise in fiber electronics, especially for sensor technology.

Fiber-based pressure sensor

Fiber heater

Fiber strain sensor

Stretchable conductive fiber

Lee et al. Advanced Materials (2015)

Lee et al. ACS NANO (2018)

Flexible and Stretchable electronics

Mechanical compliance including flexibility and stretchability is a key feature of soft electronic devices for wearable or biomedical applications. We have developed several types of flexible and stretchable electronic devices such as bioinspired flexible pressure sensor array, paper keyboard, 1D stretchable sensors, etc. Based on the plentiful experience and expertise in flexible/stretchable electronics, we are extending our research to soft robotics, actuators, and wearable robotics.

Bio-inspired flexible pressure sensor array

Paper keyboard based on flexible sensors

Kang, Lee et al. Advanced Electronic Materials (2016)

Lee et al. Small (2017)