Wearable mechanosensing and emerging technologies in fabric-based actuation

Kinesthetic and haptic interfaces between humans and machines are currently under development in a truly wearable form, using innovative technologies based on electroactive polymers. The integration of electroactive polymeric materials into wearable garments is a viable means to confer them strain sensing and actuation properties. The methodology underlying the design of kinesthetic and haptic systems with the combined use of new polymeric electroactive materials in configurations compatible with a textile substrate can provide new avenues toward the realization of truly wearable interfaces. In this chapter, the conception, early stage implementation and preliminary testing of fabric-based wearable interfaces endowed with spatially redundant strain sensing and simple actuation properties are illustrated with reference to preliminary prototypes.