• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.435-444
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• 2011

The development of ubiquitous healthcare technology and portable electronic devices requires new energy sources for providing continuous power supply. This study particularly focuses on an energy harvesting system capable of charging energy using clothing. One of the sources for energy harvesting is heat energy, which is the difference in temperature of the body and the surrounding environment. In this study, the skin temperature distribution of the human body was empirically measured to determine the basic materials needed to develop heat energy harvesting clothing. The distribution of skin temperature in different sections of the human body was analyzed. The analysis found that the skin temperature of the upper body was higher than that of the lower body. The area close to the heart with a lot of blood flow was especially high. The skin temperature of the back side of the body, such as the back of the neck, upper back, and waist, was higher than that of the front side of the body. As for the arms, the skin temperature of the upper arms was higher than that of the lower arms, and the skin temperature of the back side of the arms was lower than that of the front and the flank side of the arms. The difference in the average skin temperature and the environment temperature was highest at the back of the neck, and thereby is considered to be the most appropriate section to integrate the heat energy harvesting function and structure. The following sections had the next highest difference in values, listed in descending order: the back of the waist, the sides of shoulders, the front chest area, the front side of the upper arms, and the front abdomen. Based on the skin temperatures of the different sections of the human body, this study outlines the basic guidelines for developing heat energy harvesting clothing.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2023

Electronic skin (e-skin), devices that are mounted on or attached to human skin, have advanced in recent times. Yet, the development of a power supply for e-skin remains a challenge. A stretchable thermoelectric generator is a promising power supply for the e-skin patches. It is a safe and semi-permanent energy harvesting device that uses body heat for generating power. Carbon nanotube (CNT) clays are used in energy-harvesting e-skin patches. In this study, we report improved thermoelectric performance of CNT clays by using chemical doping and physical blending of thermoelectric enhancers. The n-type and p-type thermoelectric enhancers increase electrical conductivity, leading to increased power factors of the thermoelectric CNT clays. The blend of CNT clays and enhancers is intrinsically stretchable up to 50% while maintaining its thermoelectric property.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2011.06a
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• pp.1015-1016
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• 2011

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.10.1-10.1
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• 2011

Energy harvesting technologies converting external sources (such as thermal energy, vibration and mechanical energy from the nature sources of wind, waves or animal movements) into electrical energy is recently a highly demanding issue in the materials science community for making sustainable green environments. In particular, fabrication of usable nanogenerator attract the attention of many researchers because it can scavenge even the biomechanical energy inside the human body (such as heart beat, blood flow, muscle stretching, or eye blinking) by converging harvesting technology with implantable bio-devices. Herein, we describe procedure suitable for generating and printing a lead-free microstructured $BaTiO_3$ thin film nanogenerator on plastic substrates to overcome limitations appeared in conventional flexible ferroelectric devices. Flexible $BaTiO_3$ thin film nanogenerator was fabricated and the piezoelectric properties and mechanically stability of ferroelectric devices were characterized. From the results, we demonstrate the highly efficient and stable performance of $BaTiO_3$ thin film nanogenerator and the integration of bio-eco-compatible ferroelectric materials may enable innovative opportunities for artificial skin and energy harvesting system.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2014

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.66-69
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• 2017

In recent year, energy harvesting technologies from the ambient environments such as light, motion, wireless waves, and temperature again a lot of attraction form research community [1-5] due to its efficient solution in order to substitute for conventional power delivery methods, especially in wearable together with on-body applications. The drawbacks of battery-powered characteristic used in commodity applications lead to self-powered, long-lifetime circuit design. Thermoelectric generator, a solid-state sensor, is useful compared to the harvesting devices in order to enable self-sustained low-power applications. TEG based on the Seebeck effect is utilized to transfer thermal energy which is available with a temperature gradient into useful electrical energy. Depending on the temperature difference between two sides, amount of output power will be proportionally delivered. In this work, we illustrated a low-input voltage energy harvesting circuit applied discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) method for getting an adequate amount of energy from thermoelectric generator (TEG) for a specific wearable application. With a small temperature gradient harvested from human skin, the input voltage from the transducer is as low as 60mV, the proposed circuit, fabricated in a $0.6{\mu}m$ CMOS process, is capable of generating a regulated output voltage of 4.2V with an output power reaching to $40{\mu}W$. The proposed circuit is useful for powering energy to battery-less systems, such as wearable application devices.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2013.10a
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• pp.312-313
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• 2013

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2013.10a
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• pp.150-151
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• 2013

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.205-215
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• 2019

A flexible polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite prototype with high piezoelectricity and force sensitivity was constructed, and its huge potential for applications such as biomechanical energy harvesting, self-powered health monitoring system, and pressure sensors was proved. The crystallization, piezoelectric, and electrical properties of the composites were characterized using an X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiment and customized experimental setups. The composite can sustain up to 100% strain, which is a huge improvement over monolithic PVDF fibers and other PVDF-based composites in the literature. The Young's modulus is 1.64 MPa, which is closely matched with the flexibility of the human skin, and shows the possibility for integrating PVDF/PDMS composites into wearable devices and implantable medical devices. The $300{\mu}m$ thick composite has a 14% volume fraction of PVDF fibers and produces high piezoelectricity with piezoelectric charge constants $d_{31}=19pC/N$ and $d_{33}=34pC/N$, and piezoelectric voltage constants $g_{31}=33.9mV/N$ and $g_{33}=61.2mV/N$. Under a 10 Hz actuation, the output voltage was measured at 190 mVpp, which is the largest output signal generated from a PVDF fiber-based prototype.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2022

Wearable devices have the potential to revolutionize future medical diagnostics and personal healthcare. The integration of biosensors into scalable form factors allow continuous and noninvasive monitoring of key biomarkers and various physiological indicators. However, conventional wearable devices have critical limitations owing to their rigid and obtrusive interfaces. Recent developments in functional biocompatible materials, micro/nanofabrication methods, multimodal sensor mechanisms, and device integration technologies have provided the foundation for novel skin-interfaced bioelectronics for advanced and user-friendly wearable devices. Nonetheless, it is a great challenge to satisfy a wide range of design parameters in fabricating an authentic skin-interfaced device while maintaining its edge over conventional devices. This review highlights recent advances in skin-compatible materials, biosensor performance, and energy-harvesting methods that shed light on the future of wearable devices for digital health and personalized medicine.