Yon Visell

Biography

Yon Visell is Associate Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is appointed in the Media Arts & Technology Program, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering (by courtesy), and Biological Engineering Program (by courtesy). Dr. Visell directs the RE Touch Lab, which is undertaking research in haptic science and engineering, soft robotics, and additive manufacturing. He is affiliated with the California NanoSystems Institute, UCSB Center for Bioengineering, UCSB Center for Responsible Machine Learning, and UCSB Center for Polymers and Organic Solids.

Research

Inspired by capabilities of humans and other animals, the Visell Lab investigates mechanobiology, sensation, and perception related to the human sense of touch, engineers haptic (touch) technologies, investigates soft and wearable robots, creates new material technologies, and advances applications in health, robotics, virtual reality, and human-computer interaction.

Select Publications

• T. Nguyen-Dang et al., Biomaterial-based Solid-Electrolyte Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Electronic and Neuromorphic Applications. Advanced Electronic Materials, To Appear, 2021.
• Y. Peng, C. Serfass, A. Kawazoe, Y. Shao, K. Gutierrez, C. Hill, V. Santos. Y. Visell, L. Hsiao, Elastohydrodynamic friction of robotic and human fingers on soft micropatterned substrates. Nature Materials, April, 2021.
• Y. Shao, V. Hayward, Y. Visell, Compression of Dynamic Tactile Information in the Human Hand. Science Advances, 6:eaaz158, 2020.
• Y. Hao, S. Biswas, E. Hawkes, T. Wang, M. Zhu, L. Wen, Y. Visell, A Multimodal, Enveloping Soft Gripper: Shape Conformation, Bioinspired Adhesion, and Expansion-Driven Suction. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Conditionally Accepted, 2020.
• S. Biswas, Y. Shao, T. Hachisu, T. Nguyen-Dang, Y. Visell. Integrated Soft Optoelectronics for Wearable Health Monitoring. Advanced Materials Technologies, 2020.
• M. Zhu, T. N. Do, E. W. Hawkes, Y. Visell, Fluidic Fabric Muscle Sheets for Wearable and Soft Robotics. Soft Robotics, 2020.
• G. Reardon, N. Kastor, Y. Shao, Y. Visell, Elastowave: Localized Tactile Feedback in a Soft Haptic Interface via Focused Elastic Waves. Proceedings of IEEE Haptics Symposium, 2020. (Best Technical Paper Award)
• S. Biswas, Y. Visell, Emerging Materials Technologies for Haptics. Advanced Materials Technologies 4 (1900042), 2019.
• T. N. Do, H. Phan, T.-Q. Nguyen, and Y. Visell, Miniature Soft Electromagnetic Actuators for Robotic Applications. Advanced Functional Materials, 2018.
• Y. Shao, V. Hayward, Y. Visell, Spatial Patterns of Cutaneous Vibration During Whole-Hand Haptic Interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113 (15), 2016.