COFLUID
Rapid Prototyping of Fluidic Interface
Apr 2022 - Jul 2022
Project completed at Zhejiang University with Haotian Chen, Ziqing Zheng, Longxuan Chen, Zeping Jin
Role: tech developer, literature researcher
Instructor: Guanyun Wang, Weitao You, Lingyun Sun
VIDEO DEMONSTRATION
This video below incorporates the introduction, related works, fabrication process, and applications of our research. If you want to have a quick glimpse into what our research is about, check this video out! ☺️
ABSTRACT
CoFluid is a rapid prototyping fabrication method to build microfluidic channels and compatible soft control valves. Compared with expensive and complicated conventional fabrication processes of microfluidic channels, CoFluid features low-cost, fast and flexible. It allows designers to incorporate microfluidics in prototypes with ease, providing engaging visual feedback and interesting interactions.
RELATED WORKS
In HCI, interfaces of gas and liquid have attracted attention in dynamic deformation, dynamic stiffness, flexible sensing and soft actuating, etc.
Dynamic Deformation: Lining et al., PneUI, UIST, 2013
Dynamic Stiffness: Sean et al., Jamming user interfaces, UIST, 2012
Flexible Sensing: Carlos et al., AirTouch, CHI, 2020
Soft Actuating: Cacucciolo et al., Stretchable pumps for soft machines, Nature, 2019
Among them, liquids have many properties that gases cannot express, such as heating and cooling, kinetic motion, color expression and chemical reactions. ⬇️
Heating/Cooling: Yuhu et al., ThermoCaress, CHI, 2021
Kinetic Movement: Purnendu et al., Electriflow, DIS, 2021
Color Expression: Yuki et al., TuVe, SIGGRAPH Asia, 2018
Chemical Reaction: Jasmine et al., Chemical Haptics, UIST, 2021
Insight
In current research, the design and fabrication process of small fluidic channels are complicated and costly.
Melinda et al., Microfluidic device fabrication,2015
Vittorio et al., 3D Printed Scaffold-Removal Method,advanced science,2015
FABRICATION
Thus we proposed a low-cost, fast, and flexible fabrication of small fluidic channels and a compatible valve switch.
Channel fabrication
Valve fabrication
cross-section ⬇️
APPLICATION
Microfluidics can be easily incorporated into prototyping, providing engaging visual feedback.
High expansibility: this fabrication method can easily incorporate multi-layered channels.
High flexibility: the channel can be attached to curved surfaces and stretched. For example, we apply this channel to a thermoplastic mask.
Embedded valves further allow many interesting forms of interaction.
fluidic switch of lamp
wearable device with haptic feedback
circuit block toys that uses the metaphor of water flow to current
fluidic loading animation