Helix-structured flexible strain sensors for soft and curved
This technology is a tiny, flexible strain sensor built by winding two copper wires in a double helix around a stretchy elastic core, similar in concept to a miniaturized braided structure. When the sensor is stretched or compressed, the geometric relationship between the wires changes, altering the electrical capacitance or inductance in a measurable way. The design is inherently scalable because it can be manufactured continuously using standard winding equipment rather than complex microfabrication. Because it is soft, small, and stretchable, it can conform to curved or moving surfaces where rigid sensors would fail.
What you could build
A low-cost, roll-to-roll manufacturable strain sensing element sold as a component to wearable health monitor makers, soft robotics developers, and industrial flexible electronics integrators who need conformal, real-time deformation measurement without rigid electronics.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia-based defense and aerospace contractors (e.g., those near the Pentagon corridor), wearable health tech startups, and university spinouts in the soft robotics space would be natural early adopters or licensing partners.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Tong Qiu, Ruixuan Wang, Anbo Wang, Xiaoting Jia, Alexander Stolyarov, Michael Rein
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed December 2, 2024
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20250327652A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.