Tech Briefs Magazine - March 2022 - 37

MATERIALS CHANNEL
Sponsored by
The key features of the new fiber architecture include its extremely
narrow size and use of inexpensive materials, which make it relatively
easy to structure the fibers into a variety of fabric forms. (Photo: Courtesy
of the researchers)
skin since its outer layer is based on a material similar to common
polyester. Its fast response time and the strength and
variety of the forces it can impart allow for a rapid feedback
system for training or remote communications using haptics
(based on the sense of touch).
The shortcomings of most existing artificial muscle fibers
are that they are either thermally activated, which can cause
overheating when used in contact with human skin, or they
have low power efficiency or arduous training processes.
These systems often have slow response and recovery times,
limiting their immediate usability in applications that require
rapid feedback.
As an initial test application of the material, the team made
a type of undergarment that singers can wear to monitor
and play back the movement of respiratory muscles, to later
provide kinesthetic feedback through the same garment to
encourage optimal posture and breathing patterns for the
desired vocal performance. The team had a singer perform
while wearing the garment made of OmniFibers and recorded
the movement data from the strain sensors woven into
the garment. Then, they translated the sensor data to the
corresponding tactile feedback.
The same approach could be used to help athletes to learn
how best to control their breathing in a given situation, based
on monitoring accomplished athletes, as they carry out various
activities and stimulating the muscle groups that are in
action. Eventually, such garments could also be used to help
patients regain healthy breathing patterns after major surgery
or a respiratory disease such as COVID-19, or even as an alternative
treatment for sleep apnea.
The team will continue working on making the whole system,
including its control electronics and compressed air
supply, even more miniaturized to keep it as unobtrusive as
possible and to develop the manufacturing system to be able
to produce longer filaments.
For more information, contact Abby Abazorius at abbya@mit.edu;
617-253-2709.
Tech Briefs, March 2022
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A new spray-on coating
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Assessing Speech
Intelligibility with
Mask Materials
Researchers at Washington
University in St. Louis are
examining how different
materials used in popular mask
designs may impact speech
intelligibility.
www.techbriefs.com/tv/
mask-materials
Turning E-Waste into
Precious Metals
Rice University established
potential for urban mining using
the flash Joule heating method
to extract valuable metals from
e-waste.
www.techbriefs.com/tv/
flash-joule-heating
www.techbriefs.tv
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Tech Briefs Magazine - March 2022

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