Symposium SM4—A Soft Future—From Electronic Skin to Robotics and Energy Harvesting

Soft matter surrounds us. Materials in a variety of physical and chemical states are easily deformed when exposed to external mechanical, electrical, chemical or optical stimuli. Interdisciplinary materials science is at the core of a rapidly growing research field - exploring soft robots, ionic and electronic skin, energy harvesters, and systems that camouflage and self heal. The goal is to realize novel applications by mimicking nature in a wide range of fields, from consumer and mobile appliances to biomedical systems, sports and healthcare. All conceivable classes of materials with a variety of mechanical, physical and chemical properties are employed to achieve functionalities never seen before. Weight, flexibility and conformability are pivotal to enable these future technologies to proliferate.

The aim of this symposium is to provide a platform for researchers from all fields to exchange information and to strengthen the presence of these efforts within the materials research community. The symposium will report on recent progress in soft machines, stretchable electronics, approaches to self-healing, camouflage and self-cleaning, resorbable and transient soft devices, ionic and electronic skins, and stretchable power generation and storage. Abstracts focusing on novel materials and fabrication processes, modeling, and new, unusual device concepts are highly encouraged.