GoKawiilMIT researchers build soft optical-fiber skin for 3D shape sensing
MIT mechanical engineering researchers developed a flexible, wearable sheet embedded with bendable optical fibers that tracks its own 3D shape and detects external pressure, achieving error rates below half a centimeter in lab tests. The design uses rubber-cored fibers with roughened, dyed cladding to detect bending direction, and an LED-and-sensor setup paired with an algorithm reconstructs the sheet's shape in real time. The work was published in Advanced Intelligent Systems.