3D-printable self-powered stretch sensors for wearables and
This technology is a 3D printing system that manufactures flexible, self-powered sensor fibers by continuously coating a thin copper wire with a silicone rubber sheath as it is printed. The resulting fibers generate small electrical signals whenever they are stretched or pressed, requiring no battery. The printer can lay these fibers into flat meshes, membranes, or hollow 3D shapes—on fabric, skin, or directly on organs—making it possible to fabricate custom-shaped pressure and motion sensors in a single manufacturing step. Target uses include wearable activity trackers, smart face masks that recognize mouthed speech, and sensors wrapped around donor organs to monitor their health during transport or perfusion.
What you could build
A 3D-printing platform sold to medical device OEMs and wearable technology manufacturers that produces bespoke, self-powered stretch sensors—most immediately as organ-monitoring sleeves for perfusion machine companies or as silent-speech recognition patches for AR/VR and accessibility device makers.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia's strong defense-health corridor (DARPA, Walter Reed, Inova) and wearable-tech startups near the Northern Virginia tech cluster 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
- Blake JOHNSON, Yuxin TONG, John ROBERTSON, Xiaoting JIA, Ziang FENG
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed October 24, 2025
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20260051829A1
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.