Welcome to the Laboratory for Soft Machines & Electronics (SME) at the School of Packaging, Michigan State University (MSU). We are focusing on the mechanics and applications of soft materials and nano-materials, the design and fabrication of flexible, stretchable and printed electronics and biomedical devices, as well as the 3D & 4D printing of advanced functional materials. We employ a combination of experimental, numerical and theoretical methods to exploit the fundamental mechanics and physics of advanced materials, and to design and fabricate novel machines and electronics using advanced technologies for a variety of applications in engineering and medicine, ranging from durable infrastructures to tunable surfaces and interfaces, to stretchable and wearable electronics, as well as materials and technologies for Internet of Things (IoTs) and smart packaging systems in supply chain.
Research Hightlight
Smart Gripper for Soft Robotics
We have developed a new type of smart robotic gripper and actuator based on the cable driven mechanism and triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) sensors, targeting at applications in packaging automation and agriculture harvesting. This research will be published in Advanced Materials Technologies soon!
Novel Triboelectric Nanogenerator
We have developed a new type of wave energy harvester, hierarchically structured triboelectric nanogenerator (HS-TENG), based on the triboelectric effect, targeting to harvest the huge blue energy for large-scale deployments. This research is published in Nano Energy !
Stretchable Supercapacitors from Crumpled CNT-forests
Stretchable supercapacitors based on crumpled CNT-forests are fabricated by harnessing the
mechanical instability of vertically aligned CNT arrays transferred on an elastomer substrate, offering a
new opportunity for next‐generation self-powered stretchable electronics.
Bacteria Self-Organize to Build Working Sensors
We have demonstrated one way of fabricating a 3-D dome-shaped structure based entirely on the principle of self-organization via bacteria. Identical arrays of domes were grown on two substrate surfaces, and then sandwiched together to form hybrid organic-inorganic pressure sensors.
Fully Printed, Flexible, Stable & Hysteresis-free CNT-TFTs
This study reports hysteresis-free carbon nanotube thin-film transistor (CNT-TFTs) fabricated entirely using an aerosol jet printing technique; this includes the printing of all layers: semiconducting CNTs, metallic electrodes, and insulating gate dielectrics.
'SPRAY-ON' MEMORY
The device, which is analogous to a 4-bit flash drive, is the first fully-printed digital memory that would be suitable for practical use in simple electronics such as environmental sensors or RFID tags. And because it is jet-printed at relatively low temperatures, it could be used to build programmable electronic devices on bendable materials like paper, plastic or fabric.
Hierarchical Patterns with Dynamic Tunability and Multifunctionality
Our paper "Harnessing Localized Ridges for High-Aspect-Ratio Hierarchical Patterns with Dynamic Tunability and Multifunctionality" has been selected as Cover of Advanced Materials, and featured at Duke Research.
Recent News
Feb 20, 2020
New Paper
Our recent work on Au-CNT forest based stretchable supercapacitor has been accepted for publication by Matter, a sister journal of Cell. Congrats!
Feb 12, 2020
New Paper
Yihao's paper on robust stretchable supercapacitor from MXene and RGO composites has been accepted for publication by ACS Nano. Cheers!
Dec 27, 2019
New Paper
Shoue and Yaokun's paper on Smart Soft Actuators and Grippers has been accepted for publication by Advanced Materials Technologies. Cheers!
Dec 24, 2019
Journal Cover
Yaokun's paper on HS-TENG has been featured as the Front Cover in the latest issue of Nano Energy. Congrats!
Dec 20, 2019
New Paper
Yin's paper on modeling magnetoactive elastomers has been accepted for publication by International Journal of Applied Mechanics. Congrats!
Dec 12, 2019
Award
Congratulations to Juan and Shoue for wining the award of "The 4th China Sustainable Packaging and Safety Design Innovation Contest”. Good job!
Nov 30, 2019
New Paper
Shoue's review paper on soft robots has been published in Advanced Materials Technologies. Thank all the co-authors! Cheers!
Nov 05, 2019
Talks
Dr. Cao delivered an invited talk at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) and visited the University of Tennessee and Joint Institute of Advanced Materials. Thank Pooran and Yanfei for their kind host and the delicious food!
Oct 30, 2019
Visiting
Dr. Cao attended the NextFlex workshop, and visited Prof. Kejie Zhao's Lab and Prof. Wenbin Yu's Lab at Purdue University! Thank you all for the warm reception!
Oct 08, 2019
Visitor
Dr. Cao hosted Prof. Nadia Lapusta from Caltech for giving the Midwest Mechanics Seminar!
Sep 30, 2019
New Paper
Yaokun's review paper on 3D printed batteries has been accepted for publication in Advanced Functional Materials (IF: 15.621). Congrats!
Sep 24, 2019
Visitor
Prof. Benedetto Marelli from MIT visited SME Lab and gave an invited talk on structural biopolymers at SoP!
Sep 22, 2019
New Paper
Yaokun's paper on novel hierarchical structured triboelectric nanogenerator (HS-TENG) has been accepted for publication in Nano Energy (IF: 15.548). Congrats!
Jun 30, 2019
New Paper
Our new paper has been accepted for publication in Smart Materials and Structures . Good job!
Apr 12, 2019
New Paper
Our paper on Highly Stretchable Supercapacitors via Crumpled CNT-Forests has been accepted for publication in Advanced Energy Materials (IF: 24.88). Cheers!
Apr 11, 2019
New Paper
Yin's paper "Phase Transition and Optimal Actuation of Active Bilayer Structures" has been accepted for publication in Extreme Mechanics Letters. Congrats!
Apr 08, 2019
Fellowships
Congratulations to Shoue and Kexin for awarding the CANR fellowship funds for their summer work.