A Multiobjective Design Architecture for Versatile Stretchable Touchscreen Displays

Stretchable touch sensors, which can be conformally attached to arbitrary surfaces, endow any uneven surfaces with intelligence for interacting with humans by sensing the input signal, which is critical for future Internet of Things environments. Theoretical derivation and numerical simulations for structural design have been reported to help understand and analyze stretchable sensors. However, the device prototype simultaneously fulfilling the stretchability and touch sensing was not yet investigated. Here, we demonstrated the prototype, a ${5} \times {5}$ copper-based stretchable touch sensor with serpentine shapes. Furthermore, we proposed a hybrid design architecture, combining geometrical modeling, multiphysics field analysis, and multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) to construct a stretchable touch sensor with optimal electrical and mechanical performance. This design demonstrated the touch sensitivity improvement by a factor of 72.6% without compromising the stretchability. The proposed touch sensor still functions well under 30% of strain when stretched. This research demonstrates the potential of MOEA as a powerful design tool for versatile stretchable sensors.