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With a growing number of electronic devices surrounding our daily life, it becomes increasingly important to create solutions for clear and simple communication and interaction at the human machine interface (HMI). Haptic feedback solutions play an important role as they give a clear direct link and response to the user. This work demonstrates multifunctional haptic feedback devices based on fully printed piezoelectric transducers realized with functional polymers on thin paper substrate. The devices are flexible; lightweight and show very high out-of-plane deflection of 213 µm at a moderate driving voltage of 50 Vrms (root mean square) achieved by an innovative multilayer design with up to five individually controllable active layers. The device creates a very clear haptic sensation to the human skin with a blocking force of 0.6 N at the resonance frequency of 320 Hz, which is located in the most sensitive range of the human fingertip. Additionally the transducer generates audible information above two kilohertz with a remarkable high sound pressure level. Thus the paper-based approach can be used for interactive displays in combination with touch sensation; sound and color prints. The work gives insights into the manufacturing process; the electrical characteristics; and an in-depth analysis of the 3D deflection of the device under variable conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic insecticides are widely used against plant pest insects to protect the crops. However, many insecticides have poor selectivity and are toxic also to beneficial insects, animals, and humans. In addition, insecticide residues can remain on fruits for many days, jeopardizing food safety. For these reasons, a reusable, low‐cost electronic trap that can attract, detect, and identify, but attack only the pest while leaving beneficial insects unharmed could provide a sustainable, nature‐friendly replacement. Here, for the first time, research results are presented suggesting the great potential and compatibility of organic electronic devices and technologies with pest management. Electrical characterizations confirm that an insect's body has relatively high dielectric permittivity. Adaptive memcapacitor circuits can track the impedance change for insect detection. Other experiments show that printed polymer piezoelectric transducers on a plastic substrate can collect information about the weight and activity of insects for identification. The breakdown voltage of most insects´ integument is measured to be <200 V. Long channel organic transistors easily work at such high voltages while being safe to touch for humans thanks to their inherent low current. This feasibility study paves the way for the future development of organic electronics for physical pest control and biodiversity protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]