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About

Claire Preston is a leading researcher in soft robotics and stretchable electronics, with a focus on developing tactile sensors and displays that enable safe, intuitive human-machine interaction. Her work centers on creating flexible, skin-like sensor systems that can perceive touch, pressure, and shear forces—critical for applications in prosthetics, wearable devices, and collaborative robots. Preston’s most impactful contribution is the design of a soft capacitive sensor skin (2023, 28 citations) that uses patterned elastomers with fixed and sliding pillars to discriminate between normal and shear forces, offering machines the fine control needed for safe physical interactions. She has also pioneered intrinsically stretchable electrochromic displays (2023, 26 citations) using PEDOT:PSS ionic liquid composites, enabling low-power, conformable visual interfaces for wearables. Additionally, her transparent stretchable capacitive touch sensor grid (2019, 17 citations) using ionic liquid electrodes demonstrates how soft materials can replace rigid components in user interfaces. Preston’s innovations bridge materials science and robotics, advancing the frontier of soft, adaptive electronics that can seamlessly integrate with the human body and environment.