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Simone Lantean¹, Matteo Lo Preti^1,2, Lucia Beccai¹

¹Soft BioRobotics Perception, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova, Italy. simone.lantean@iit.it.

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Summary

Researchers developed a novel soft optical shield using titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles in silicone. This innovation enhances soft robots

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Materials Science
Optoelectronics

Background:

Soft robots require effective mechanosensing for environmental interaction.
Stretchable waveguides are promising for soft mechanical sensing due to their elastomeric nature.
Existing challenges include light-shielding, signal decoupling, and core-cladding interface integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a soft optical shield coating for improved mechanosensing in soft robots.
To address light-shielding and signal integrity issues in stretchable optical waveguides.
To create a tunable material for programming light transmittance in soft optical devices.

Main Methods:

Dispersing titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles in silicone elastomers to create a shielding coating.
Characterizing the mechanical and optical properties of the TiO2-infused silicone films.
Developing an open-access tool for designing soft optical devices based on TiO2 concentration and film thickness.

Main Results:

TiO2 addition did not compromise the elastomer's flexibility and achieved near-complete near-infrared (NIR) shielding at 1.0 vol% in 150 μm films.
Demonstrated a soft waveguide with <40% stretchability and low optical loss, and a soft strain sensor detecting up to 90% strain.
The shielding material showed minimal impact on light transmission under bending, folding, and indentation.

Conclusions:

The developed TiO2-based soft optical shield is suitable for advanced soft mechanosensing applications.
The tunable optical properties enable the design of novel soft optical transmission devices and sensors.
This work facilitates the development of soft robots capable of discriminating diverse mechanical stimuli.