Coaxial 3D printing technology, with its advantages of scalability and controllability, is applied in research to develop integrated wearable sensors composed of pressure sensor arrays and strain sensors. In order to improve the performance of the pressure sensor array, microstructures molded from sandpaper are introduced into the contact interface of the extruded fibers, resulting in a sensitivity (defined as the ratio of capacitance change to the change of applied pressure) of 0.562 kPa−1, a response/relaxation time of 230 ms, and a high durability. The printed strain sensor has a sensitivity (defined as the ratio of resistance change to the change of applied strain) of 11.8 and a good stability for 10 000 cycles. The high‐performance pressure sensor array and strain sensors give the integrated device the ability to detect various mechanical stimuli such as pressing, bending, twisting, and shear forces, showing potential application in the field of electronic skin.

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We present an interactive visualization tool for generating color schemes that can be used by both professional artists and novice designers to improve their design efficiency. The method is developed on two color harmony principles of familial factors and rhythmic spans from conventional color theories. The interactive tool makes use of these principles for users to interactively generate colors palettes containing harmonious combinations in the hue, saturation, and lightness color space in as few steps as possible. A pilot study with 20 participants has shown that this tool provides efficient workflow, color‐scheme harmony, and intuitive interaction, demonstrating the usefulness of the method. This work contributes to an artistic‐theory driven harmonious color‐scheme generation and to interactive user interfaces visualizing color relationships. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 39, 70–78, 2014

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Photoactuators have attracted significant interest for soft robot and gripper applications, yet most of them rely on free-space illumination, which requires a line-of-site low-loss optical path. While waveguide photoactuators can overcome this limitation, their actuating performances are fundamentally restricted by the nature of standard optical fibres. Herein, we demonstrated miniature photoactuators by embedding optical fibre taper in a polydimethylsiloxane/Au nanorod-graphene oxide photothermal film. The special geometric features of the taper endow the designed photoactuator with microscale active layer thickness, high energy density and optical coupling efficiency. Hence, our photoactuator show large bending angles (>270°), fast response (1.8 s for 180° bending), and low energy consumption (<0.55 mW/°), significantly exceeding the performance of state-of-the-art waveguide photoactuators. As a proof-of-concept study, one-arm and two-arm photoactuator-based soft grippers are demonstrated for capturing/moving small objects, which is challenging for free-space light-driven photoactuators.