STTR Phase I: Flexible Sensor Arrays for Smart Fabrics and Surfaces using Ink-jet Printing and a Practical Approach to Nanotechnology

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to advance the practicality of smart materials and the Internet-of-Things (IoT) by featuring a low-profile carbon nanotube (CNT) sensor that can detect low-force impacts, micro-sized bending strains, damage features in materials, and human finger movements. Organisms understand their environment by experiencing and learning from experienced sensations. From a technological perspective, at the core of intelligence, sensory organs collect signals and transduce them into computable information. The project goal is to instill this process of feeling into inanimate objects. Integrating CNT sensors into materials will enable smart surfaces, health monitoring of structures and machinery, haptic feedback systems, and human-machine interfaces. The scalability and affordability of these sensor components will bolster the commercial appeal of devices across all of these applications areas. For perspective, the global Internet-of-Things sensor market size is currently valued at $16 billion, and this is expected to grow to $70 billion over the next five years. This project will focus on scaling individual devices into sensing arrays that transduce mechanical stress into valuable sensory data. The intellectual merit of this project is based on the creation of valuable technical data and the ability to demonstrate a novel application of cutting-edge nanotechnology. The sensors to be developed rely on carbon nanotube buckypaper (CNT-BP) and its inherent ability to detect stress and strain better than many commercial sensors. The combination of effectiveness and efficiency displayed by these devices hold promise for commercial adoption. This project aims to explore the advantages and limitations of CNT-BP sensors in various situations. Though CNT-based sensors have been studied throughout the years, this project will introduce a patented process for scalable production. To prove the practicality of the technology, the overarching project goals include measuring the reliability of the featured sensor, scaling the sensors into arrays for spatial recognition, and enabling human-machine interfacing via wearable sensor integrations. The technical objectives include the collection of reliability metrics (sensitivity, resolution, stretchability, and durability), the mapping of stress and strain throughout relevant materials, and the translation of biometric data into relevant signals for the chosen use cases. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.