(426e) Bioinspired coatings and surfaces for haptic engineering

In the animal kingdom, there are many examples of surfaces and coatings that can effectively control friction, even in extreme environments where high shear rates and complex fluids are present. This talk focuses on the fundamental interfacial principles that can be used to engineer the sliding friction at haptic interfaces. The first example is the use of surface patterns to separate length scales in lubricated flows, which is applicable even to real-world systems in soft robotics and tactile sensing. The second example is the incorporation of fatty amide organic molecules that form slip planes at the interface, such as that between human skin and nonwoven textiles. These materials generate triboelectric power when tapped, where the slip additives serve as a crucial gateway between charge carrying efficiency and human haptic sensation.