Liwei Lin (Advisor)

Research Advised by Professor Liwei Lin

Lin Group:  List of Projects | List of Researchers

Ilryu Jang

Visiting Scholar Researcher
Mechanical Engineering
Professor Liwei Lin (Advisor)
Visiting Scholar 2024 to present

Lego-Like Reconfigurable Soft Haptic Array via Self-Healing Sensor/Actuator Modules

Peisheng He
Wenying Qiu
Yande Peng
Jong Ha Park
Qilong Cheng
David Bogy
Liwei Lin
2024

Soft haptic devices could enable unique applications in AR/VR, healthcare, and human-machine interface systems. Here, a versatile reconfigurable haptic system is proposed for different application scenarios at diverse anatomical locations and body shapes. Lego toys are the inspiration of the module concept where individual haptic modules can be cut, reconfigured, and reconnected as a new system in the ambient environment repeatedly.

Each module consists of the basic building block of flexible selfhealable ion-conducting and insulating layers....

A Non-Wolatile Surface Tension-Driven Electricochemical Liquid Metal Actuator

Xiaohang Chen
Zihan Wang
Wei Yue
Peisheng He
Liwei Lin
2024

We present a surface-tension driven electrochemical liquid metal (LM) actuator without the gas-producing sidereaction and capable of fabrication/operation in ambient air for practical applications. A hybrid supercapacitor is introduced to inhibit the common counter electrode side reactions, and the use of quasi-solid-state ionic hydrogel instead of liquid electrolyte further enables non-volatile operations. A 2×4 LM droplet array is demonstrated to actuate by a low driving voltage of 3.5 V for a maximum force of ~8.5 mN and a displacement of 0.56 mm in only 1.75 s. With the favorable...

Ultrafast Biomimetic Untethered Soft Actuators with Bone-In-Flesh Constructs Actuated by Magnetic Field

Wei Yue
Renxiao Xu
Fanping Sui
Yuan Gao
Liwei Lin
2024

Soft actuators with unique mechanics have gained significant interests for unique capabilities and versatile applications. However, their actuation mechanisms (usually driven by light, heat, or chemical reactions) result in long actuation times. Reported magnetically actuated soft actuators can produce rapid and precise motions, yet their complex manufacturing processes may constrain their range of applications. Here, the “bone-in-flesh” is proposed that constructs combining rigid magnetic structures encapsulated within soft polymers to create untethered magnetic soft actuators. This...

Lin Lab: Researchers Design Soft Actuators that Mimic ‘bone-in-flesh’ Structure of Human Limbs

May 28, 2024

Past generations of soft actuators — designed to respond to light, heat and chemical reactions — typically exhibited slow actuation times and limited precision. Newer magnetically controlled soft actuators perform better in these areas, but they are challenging to manufacture. Ferromagnetic particles with controlled directional magnetization must be embedded into the actuator’s polymer skin, a process that requires specialized 3D printers and lithography techniques.

Now, Lin’s team may have solved this issue. Using their bone-in-flesh design, the...

https://engineering.berkeley.edu/news/2024/05/researchers-design-soft-actuators-…

Nikita Lukhanin

Graduate Student Researcher
Mechanical Engineering
Professor Liwei Lin (Advisor)
Ph.D. 2028 (Anticipated)

Nikita Lukhanin is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in MEMS at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to this, he obtained a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois as well as an A.S. in Engineering Science from College of DuPage.

BSAC's Best: Spring 2024 Awards Announced

March 29, 2024

BSAC would like to thank all of the researchers who presented their research during BSAC's Spring 2024 Research Review on March 20th.

BSAC Industrial Members voted for the outstanding paper and presentations and the results are in. Please join BSAC in congratulating the recipients of the Spring 2024 Best of BSAC honors, Fan Xia and Noelle Davis!

Outstanding Presenter...

Ryan Sochol

Alumni
Professor Liwei Lin (Advisor)
PostDoc 2014

Prof. Ryan D. Sochol received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2006, and both his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2009 and 2011, respectively, with Doctoral Minors in Bioengineering and Public Health. Prof. Sochol’s postdoctoral training spanned the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology, Harvard Medical School, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, the University of California, Berkeley, and...

Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers based on Sputtered KNN

Fan Xia
2024
Spring 2024 BSAC Research Review Presentation View Presentation View Slides Winner: Best Oral Presentation (Spring 2024)...

BPN940: Self-Healing Materials for Sensing and Energy Harvesting Applications

Peisheng He
Zihan Wang
2024

Animal skins often possess both functions of sensing and actuating to detect external stimulations and change shapes when needed, respectively. Furthermore, many animals, such as jellyfish and leptocephalus (eel larvae) have tissues that are transparent and ultra-stretchable, which are difficult to build in synthetic sensors and actuators. Moreover, all these living skins have self-healing properties, i.e. to restore their critical functions after being damaged. On the contrary, artificial electronic systems are often brittle and non-transparent. As such, biomimetic, skin-like materials...