OmniFiber is a soft robotic fiber technology for autonomous textiles and garments. A novel microfluidic fiber actuator is engineered with gesture programmability, that can sense its own physical deformation and mechanically respond to it. OmniFiber has versatile morphing behavior, multimodal haptic feedback, high frequency response, high strain and force output which allow designers to flexibly weave them into everyday interactions such as kinesthetic wearables for skill learning and transfer, dynamic fitting garments, and textile-based haptic devices for telepresence applications.

Ozgun Kilic Afsar. is a Ph.D. candidate at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and a Research Affiliate at MIT Media Lab. Her current research focuses on integrated soft robotic fibers and textiles that correspond to the dexterity of human biomechanics. Such active textile systems feature multimodal haptic feedback to kinesthetically support skill acquisition and transfer in creative movement practices. This work has recently been featured as a cover story on MIT News. She is currently exploring robotic upper-bodyware’s potential to allow for intergenerational interactions in the context of opera, such as two experts singing a duet across time and space. Her aim is to generate a tangible skills database to safeguard somatic skills in the form of haptic notations through robotic materials.

Ozgun Kilic Afsar. is a Ph.D. candidate at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and a Research Affiliate at MIT Media Lab. Her current research focuses on integrated soft robotic fibers and textiles that correspond to the dexterity of human biomechanics. Such active textile systems feature multimodal haptic feedback to kinesthetically support skill acquisition and transfer in creative movement practices. This work has recently been featured as a cover story on MIT News. She is currently exploring robotic upper body-ware’s potential to allow for intergenerational interactions in the context of opera, such as two experts singing a duet across time and space. Her aim is to generate a tangible skills database to safeguard somatic skills in the form of haptic notations through robotic materials.