3D-printed piezoelectric sensor with tunable directional
This technology involves 3D-printed piezoelectric structures built as lattice frameworks — networks of struts and nodes arranged in repeating geometric patterns — where the orientation, size, shape, and material of each individual strut can be tuned independently. Piezoelectric materials generate electricity when squeezed or vibrated, and by engineering exactly how stress flows through a lattice architecture, researchers can control precisely which directions and magnitudes of force produce electrical signals. The key innovation is that the geometry of the lattice itself — not just the base material — becomes a design variable, allowing the 'piezoelectric tensor' (essentially the directionality of the electrical response) to be customized for specific applications. This means one could design a structure that responds to vertical compression but ignores horizontal vibration, or vice versa, which conventional piezoelectric films and blocks cannot do.
What you could build
A customizable piezoelectric sensor or energy-harvesting element — fabricated via additive manufacturing — that could be embedded in structural components, wearables, or industrial machinery to capture energy or detect forces with user-defined directional selectivity; target buyers include defense contractors needing conformal structural sensors, medical device makers designing body-worn pressure monitors, and industrial IoT hardware manufacturers.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense and aerospace primes with Virginia operations (e.g., Northrop Grumman, Leidos, Raytheon) seeking advanced structural sensing materials, as well as biomedical device companies in the Northern Virginia / Richmond corridor.
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
- Xiaoyu ZHENG, Huachen CUI, Ryan HENSLEIGH
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed August 7, 2025
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20260068530A1
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.