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About

Ruben D. Ponce Wong is a leading researcher in tactile sensing, haptic perception, and neuroprosthetics, whose work bridges the gap between artificial touch and human-like dexterity. His most impactful contribution is the development of a flexible microfluidic normal force sensor skin for tactile feedback, which has garnered 251 citations and laid the groundwork for soft, compliant tactile interfaces in robotics and prosthetics. Building on this, his studies on haptic exploration—such as using a multimodal tactile sensor to perceive fingertip-sized geometric features (17 citations) and leveraging spatial asymmetry in sensor skin deformation to detect edge orientation (16 citations)—address the grand challenge of enabling artificial hands to identify objects through touch alone, reducing reliance on visual feedback for upper-limb amputees. More recently, Ponce Wong has advanced brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) with a soft, stretchable bilayer electrode array (8 citations), designed for independent functional layers to record neural signals in vivo, promising next-generation neuroprosthetics. His work is pivotal in creating intuitive, touch-aware prosthetic systems that enhance user autonomy and sensory feedback, making him a key figure in the evolution of haptic intelligence and neural interface technology.