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Professor Jimin Park and Dr. Inho Kim join the ranks of the 2024 "35 Innovators Under 35" by the MIT Technology Review
< (From left) Professor Jimin Park of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Dr. Inho Kim, a graduate of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering >
KAIST (represented by President Kwang-Hyung Lee) announced on the 13th of September that Professor Jimin Park from KAIST’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Dr. Inho Kim, a graduate from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (currently a postdoctoral researcher at Caltech), were selected by the MIT Technology Review as the 2024 "35 Innovators Under 35”.
The MIT Technology Review, first published in 1899 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the world’s oldest and most influential magazine on science and technology, offering in-depth analysis across various technology fields, expanding knowledge and providing insights into cutting-edge technology trends.
Since 1999, the magazine has annually named 35 innovators under the age of 35, recognizing young talents making groundbreaking contributions in modern technology fields. The recognition is globally considered a prestigious honor and a dream for young researchers in the science and technology community.
< Image 1. Introduction for Professor Jimin Park at the Meet 35 Innovators Under 35 Summit 2024 >
Professor Jimin Park is developing next-generation bio-interfaces that link artificial materials with living organisms, and is engaged in advanced research in areas such as digital healthcare and carbon-neutral compound manufacturing technologies. In 2014, Professor Park was also recognized as one of the ‘Asia Pacific Innovators Under 35’ by the MIT Technology Review, which highlights young scientists in the Asia-Pacific region.
Professor Park responded, “It’s a great honor to be named as one of the young innovators by the MIT Technology Review, a symbol of innovation with a long history. I will continue to pursue challenging, interdisciplinary research to develop next-generation interfaces that seamlessly connect artificial materials and living organisms, from atomic to system levels.”
< Image 2. Introduction for Dr. Inho Kim as the 2024 Innovator of Materials Science for 35 Innovators Under 35 >
Dr. Inho Kim, who earned his PhD from KAIST in 2020 under the supervision of Professor Sang Ouk Kim from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, recently succeeded in developing a new artificial muscle using composite fibers. This new material is considered the most human-like muscle ever reported in scientific literature, while also being 17 times stronger than natural human muscle.
Dr. Kim is researching the application of artificial muscle fibers in next-generation wearable assistive devices that move more naturally, like humans or animals, noting that the fibers are lightweight, flexible, and exhibit conductivity during contraction, enabling real-time feedback. Recognized for this potential, Dr. Inho Kim was named one of the '35 Innovators Under 35' this year, making him the first researcher to win the honor with the research conducted at KAIST and a PhD earned from Korea.
Dr. Kim stated, “I aim to develop robots using these new materials that can replace today’s expensive and heavy exoskeleton suits by eliminating motors and rigid frames. This will significantly reduce costs and allow for better customization, making cutting-edge technology more accessible to those who need it most, like children with cerebral palsy.”
2024.09.13 View 1706 -
KAIST Research Team Develops Sweat-Resistant Wearable Robot Sensor
New electromyography (EMG) sensor technology that allows the long-term stable control of wearable robots and is not affected by the wearer’s sweat and dead skin has gained attention recently. Wearable robots are devices used across a variety of rehabilitation treatments for the elderly and patients recovering from stroke or trauma.
A joint research team led by Professor Jae-Woong Jung from the KAIST School of Electrical Engineering (EE) and Professor Jung Kim from the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) announced on January 23rd that they have successfully developed a stretchable and adhesive microneedle sensor that can electrically sense physiological signals at a high level without being affected by the state of the user’s skin.
For wearable robots to recognize the intentions behind human movement for their use in rehabilitation treatment, they require a wearable electrophysiological sensor that gives precise EMG measurements. However, existing sensors often show deteriorating signal quality over time and are greatly affected by the user’s skin conditions. Furthermore, the sensor’s higher mechanical hardness causes noise since the contact surface is unable to keep up with the deformation of the skin. These shortcomings limit the reliable, long-term control of wearable robots.
< Figure 1. Design and working concept of the Stretchable microNeedle Adhesive Patch (SNAP). (A) Schematic illustration showing the overall system configuration and application of SNAP. (B) Exploded view schematic diagram of a SNAP, consisting of stretchable serpentine interconnects, Au-coated Si microneedle, and ECA made of Ag flakes–silicone composite. (C) Optical images showing high mechanical compliance of SNAP. >
However, the recently developed technology is expected to allow long-term and high-quality EMG measurements as it uses a stretchable and adhesive conducting substrate integrated with microneedle arrays that can easily penetrate the stratum corneum without causing discomfort. Through its excellent performance, the sensor is anticipated to be able to stably control wearable robots over a long period of time regardless of the wearer’s changing skin conditions and without the need for a preparation step that removes sweat and dead cells from the surface of their skin.
The research team created a stretchable and adhesive microneedle sensor by integrating microneedles into a soft silicon polymer substrate. The hard microneedles penetrate through the stratum corneum, which has high electrical resistance. As a result, the sensor can effectively lower contact resistance with the skin and obtain high-quality electrophysiological signals regardless of contamination. At the same time, the soft and adhesive conducting substrate can adapt to the skin’s surface that stretches with the wearer’s movement, providing a comfortable fit and minimizing noise caused by movement.
< Figure 2. Demonstration of the wireless Stretchable microNeedle Adhesive Patch (SNAP) system as an Human-machine interfaces (HMI) for closed-loop control of an exoskeleton robot. (A) Illustration depicting the system architecture and control strategy of an exoskeleton robot. (B) The hardware configuration of the pneumatic back support exoskeleton system. (C) Comparison of root mean square (RMS) of electromyography (EMG) with and without robotic assistance of pretreated skin and non-pretreated skin. >
To verify the usability of the new patch, the research team conducted a motion assistance experiment using a wearable robot. They attached the microneedle patch on a user’s leg, where it could sense the electrical signals generated by the muscle. The sensor then sent the detected intention to a wearable robot, allowing the robot to help the wearer lift a heavy object more easily.
Professor Jae-Woong Jung, who led the research, said, “The developed stretchable and adhesive microneedle sensor can stability detect EMG signals without being affected by the state of a user’s skin. Through this, we will be able to control wearable robots with higher precision and stability, which will help the rehabilitation of patients who use robots.”
The results of this research, written by co-first authors Heesoo Kim and Juhyun Lee, who are both Ph.D. candidates in the KAIST School of EE, were published in Science Advances on January 17th under the title “Skin-preparation-free, stretchable microneedle adhesive patches for reliable electrophysiological sensing and exoskeleton robot control”.
This research was supported by the Bio-signal Sensor Integrated Technology Development Project by the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Electronic Medicinal Technology Development Project, and the Step 4 BK21 Project.
2024.01.30 View 4138 -
A KAIST Research Team Develops High-Performance Stretchable Solar Cells
With the market for wearable electric devices growing rapidly, stretchable solar cells that can function under strain have received considerable attention as an energy source. To build such solar cells, it is necessary that their photoactive layer, which converts light into electricity, shows high electrical performance while possessing mechanical elasticity. However, satisfying both of these two requirements is challenging, making stretchable solar cells difficult to develop.
On December 26, a KAIST research team from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) led by Professor Bumjoon Kim announced the development of a new conductive polymer material that achieved both high electrical performance and elasticity while introducing the world’s highest-performing stretchable organic solar cell.
Organic solar cells are devices whose photoactive layer, which is responsible for the conversion of light into electricity, is composed of organic materials. Compared to existing non-organic material-based solar cells, they are lighter and flexible, making them highly applicable for wearable electrical devices. Solar cells as an energy source are particularly important for building electrical devices, but high-efficiency solar cells often lack flexibility, and their application in wearable devices have therefore been limited to this point.
The team led by Professor Kim conjugated a highly stretchable polymer to an electrically conductive polymer with excellent electrical properties through chemical bonding, and developed a new conductive polymer with both electrical conductivity and mechanical stretchability. This polymer meets the highest reported level of photovoltaic conversion efficiency (19%) using organic solar cells, while also showing 10 times the stretchability of existing devices. The team thereby built the world’s highest performing stretchable solar cell that can be stretched up to 40% during operation, and demonstrated its applicability for wearable devices.
< Figure 1. Chemical structure of the newly developed conductive polymer and performance of stretchable organic solar cells using the material. >
Professor Kim said, “Through this research, we not only developed the world’s best performing stretchable organic solar cell, but it is also significant that we developed a new polymer that can be applicable as a base material for various electronic devices that needs to be malleable and/or elastic.”
< Figure 2. Photovoltaic efficiency and mechanical stretchability of newly developed polymers compared to existing polymers. >
This research, conducted by KAIST researchers Jin-Woo Lee and Heung-Goo Lee as first co-authors in cooperation with teams led by Professor Taek-Soo Kim from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Sheng Li from the Department of CBE, was published in Joule on December 1 (Paper Title: Rigid and Soft Block-Copolymerized Conjugated Polymers Enable High-Performance Intrinsically-Stretchable Organic Solar Cells).
This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea.
2024.01.04 View 5063 -
A Technology Holding Company Establishes Two Companies Based on Technologies Developed at KAIST
Mirae Holdings is a technology holding company created by four science and technology universities, KAIST, DIGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology), GIST (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology), and UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) in 2014 to commercialize the universities’ research achievements. The company identifies promising technologies for commercialization, makes business plans, establishes venture capitals, and invests in startup companies.
Over the past year, Mirae Holdings has established two venture companies based on the technologies developed at KAIST. In September 2014, it founded Cresem Inc., a company used the anisotropic conductive film (ACF) bonding technology, which was developed by Professor Kyung-Wook Paik of the Material Science and Engineering Department at KAIST. Cresem provides a technology to bond electronic parts ultrasonically. The company is expected to have 860,000 USD worth of sales within the first year of its launching.
Last June, Mirae Holdings created another company, Doctor Kitchen, with the technology developed by Professor Gwan-Su Yi of the Bio and Brain Engineering Department at KAIST. Doctor Kitchen supplies precooked food, which helps diabetic patients regulate their diet. The company offers a personalized diet plan to customers so that they can effectively manage their disease and monitor their blood sugar level efficiently.
The Chief Executive Officer of Mirae Holdings, Young-Ho Kim, said, “We can assist KAIST researchers who aspire to create a company based on their research outcomes through various stages of startup services such as making business plans, securing venture capitals, and networking with existing businesses.”
Young-Ho Kim (left in the picture), the Chief Executive Officer of Mirae Holdings, holds a certificate of company registration with Sang-Min Oh (right in the picture), the Chief Executive Officer of Cresem.
Young-Ho Kim (left in the picture), the Chief Executive Officer of Mirae Holdings, holds a certificate of company registration with Jae-Yeun Park (right in the picture), the Chief Executive Officer of Dr. Kitchen.
2015.07.29 View 10949 -
Ki-Won Lee Receives Best Student Paper Award
Ki-Won Lee Receives Best Student Paper Award
Ki-Won Lee, a doctoral student of Materials Science & Engineering, has received the Best Student Paper Award ‘Motorola Fellowship Award’ at 2007 Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC).
Lee’s paper is about a new bonding process of anisotropic conductive film using ultrasonic wave, which applies ultrasonic wave, instead of thermal compression, at the room temperature to reduce the process time from ten to three seconds.
The recipients of Motorola Fellowship Award are selected by IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Society, and Motorola awards special scholarship to recipients. The ECTC is the world’s largest yearly conference concerning electronic packaging technologies with more than 1,000 attendees and more than 300 presented papers.
2007.07.02 View 16450