CSEM/Integrated and Wireless Systems Division
Expert in integrated and wireless systems
John Farserotu
CSEM
WiseSkin
Providing a non-invasive solution for restoration of a natural sensation of touch by embedding miniature tactility sensors into the cosmetic silicone coating of prostheses, which acts like a sensory 'skin'
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CSEM
Expert in Real Time Systems. Wireless communication
Jean-Dominique Decotignie
CSEM
EPFL/STI/IMT/ICLAB
Expert in wireless sensor networks, very low-power analog IC design and semiconductor device modeling
Christian Enz
EPFL
BFH
Expert in biomedical engineering, signal processing
Volker Koch
BFH
EPFL/STI/IMT/LSBI
Expert in fabricating stretchable bio-electronic circuits
Stéphanie Lacour
EPFL

Project Description

Amputation of a hand or limb is a catastrophic event resulting in significant disability with major consequences for amputees in terms of daily activities and quality of life. Although functional myoelectric prostheses are available today (e.g. hand), their use remains limited due, in part, to a lack of sensory function in the prostheses. At the same time, as the world’s population both grows and ages, the number of people living with disabilities, such as persons who have lost limbs for whatever reason e.g. trauma, diabetes or cancer, also increases. A sense of tactility is needed for providing feedback for control of prosthetic limbs and to perceive the prosthesis as a real part of the body, inducing a sense of "body ownership". Today, there is no solution for restoration of a natural sense of touch for persons using prosthetic limbs. 

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Read the Project Presentation

Our researchers in the media

Notable publications

Large-area tactile skin prepared with thin-film technology
A. P. Gerratt, H. O. Michaud, S. Gupta and S. P. Lacour
Society for Information Display Technical Digests, 2016


A. Hirsch, H.O. Michaud, A.P. Gerratt, S. de Mulatier, and S.P. Lacour
Advanced. Materials, 28, pp. 4507-4512, 2016

A 420 ?W, 4 GHz approximate zero IF FM-UWB receiver for short range communications
V. Kopta, D. Barras, C. Enz
Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium, 22-24 May 2016, San Fransisco, CA USA

Single Packet Link Estimation
C. Rojas, D. Piguet, J-D. Decotignie
International Conference on Embedded Wireless Systems and Networks, 15-17 February, 2016, Graz, Austria


[more]

Posters from 2016


Soft Skin Embedding and Powering Wireless Tactile Sensor Nodes
Hadrien O. Michaud, Eleni Daskalaki, Jacek Baborowski, Oleksandr Vorobyov, John R. Farserotu, and Stéphanie P. Lacour

Automatic Phantom Map Detection
Huaiqi Huang, Tao Li, Christian Enz, Jörn Justiz, and Volker M. Koch

Improving the Self-Healing in Skin Sensor Networks
C. Rojas, D. Piguet, J.-D. Decotignie and J. Farserotu

Ultra Low Power Radio for WiseSkin Communication system
Vladimir Kopta and Christian Enz

Posters from 2015


WiseSkin: Haptic Feedback for Hand Amputees
Huaiqi Huang, Christian Enz, John Farserotu, Jörn Justiz, Tao Li, and Volker M. Koch

Elastomeric electronic skin acting as a waveguide for wireless sensors integration
Hadrien Michaud, Laurent Dejace, Oleksander Vorobyov, Pierre-Nicolas Volpe, Jacek Baborowski, John R. Farserotu , and Stéphanie P. Lacour

Ultra Low Power Radio for WiseSkin Communication System
Vladimir Kopta, Christian Enz

WiseSkin Communication Protocol: A Novel Approach for High Density Wireless Sensor Networks
Camilo Rojas, Jean-Dominique Decotignie and John Farserotu

Posters from 2014


WiseSkin Communication System: A Novel Approach for High Density Wireless Sensor Networks
Camilo Rojas, Vladimir Kopta, Christian Antfolk, Jean-Dominique Decotignie, Christian Enz and John Farserotu

Conformal power distribution system and waveguide for artificial skin
Hadrien Michaud, Christian Antfolk, Oleksandr Vorobyov, John R. Farserotu and Stéphanie P. Lacour

WiseSkin sensory feedback
Huaiqi Huang, Christian Enz, Volker, M. Koch, John Farserotu

WiseSkin for tactile prosthetics
CSEM: John Farserotu, Jean-Dominique Decotignie, Christian Antfolk, Jacek Baborowski, Michel Despont, Camilo Rojas Quiros; EPFL: Christian Enz, Stephanie Lacour, Roberto Martuzzi, Vladimir Kopta, Hadrien Michaud; BFH: Volker Koch, Huaiqi Huang

    

Project Photos