Bio-inspired Soft Electrodes for Robust and Reusable Bioelectronic Stickers
Abstract
This work presents a soft, flexible, and skin-adhering electrode for a wearable bio-signal acquisition device. This dry micropatterned electrode is made with an ink composed of styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS) block co-polymer elastomer embedded with silver (Ag) microflakes. Its applicability for surface bioelectronic signal acquisition is examined and compared to clinical grade gel electrodes. These sensors show a skin-electrode interface impedance comparable to standard clinical grade gel electrodes. Inspired by the setal stalks that gecko lizards use to adhere to surfaces, these electrodes are patterned with vertically aligned micro-pillars that, through contact splitting, allow the electrode to adhere to human skin. These micro-structures have also been designed to make the electrodes robust for acquiring bio-potentials even in the presence of contaminating particles or other foreign objects at the interface between the skin and electrode.
Together, these characteristics make the soft, micro-structured electrodes well-suited for wearable bio-signal acquisition devices that can be re-used or applied to skin when it is covered with dirt or other contaminants. This property was tested by integrating these electrodes with the Lifeware Labs Propatch for real time ECG data acquisition.
Biography
Peter Roberts Olcay is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, specializing in soft materials, wearable technologies, and haptic interfaces. His research, conducted within the Social Haptics Robotics and Education (SHRED) Lab, focuses on the development of novel tactile feedback systems that integrate soft robotics and human-centered design principles to enhance embodied interaction and learning.
Peter earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. While at the Soft Machines Lab, he developed bio-inspired micropatterned dry adhesives that served as a basis for his work on self-adhesive soft electrodes for biosignal acquisition. His work spans the full pipeline—from material innovation and device fabrication to experimental validation—advancing the frontiers of conformable, skin-integrated electronics and next-generation human-machine interfaces.
With a deep foundation in soft electronics and over 15 years of cross-sector engineering experience, Peter bridges academic research with real-world applications. He has led multidisciplinary R&D efforts in wearable sensing, automation, and system integration across domains including defense, mining, and healthcare. His current work contributes to shaping the future of flexible electronics by exploring scalable, user-centric solutions for on-body sensing and technology enhanced tactile communication.