Materials and Mechanisms for Force Transduction

Various approaches to sensing forces and generating forces are presented in the context of building human-technology interfaces capable of communicating force information. Addressing the need for various types of force transducers, special emphasis is given to opportunities created by new classes of materials, including smart materials, electronic polymers, and magnetic materials. Basic physical limits and design trade-offs are given for building force sensors and actuators from these materials. In addition, the possibility of using force transduction as a means of generating electrical energy is also briefly discussed. Finally, two brief illustrative examples, “power shoes” and “deformable surfaces,” are also presented.