Electronic Fibers with Liquid Metal Droplets: The Future of Stretchable Smart Textiles

Electronic fiber with liquid metal droplets

Credit: EPFL / FIMAP Lab, Nature Electronics (2025)

Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a revolutionary electronic fiber embedded with liquid metal droplets that remains fully functional even when stretched to over ten times its original length. Published in Nature Electronics, this innovation could redefine the future of wearable electronics, soft robotics, and biomedical sensing technologies.

From Mercury Fears to Safe, Stretchable Electronics

The term “liquid metal” often conjures images of hazardous substances such as mercury, but the EPFL team’s alloy — a mix of gallium and indium — is non-toxic, remains liquid at room temperature, and possesses extraordinary electrical and mechanical properties. This combination allows engineers to create soft, flexible conductors that can stretch, bend, and self-heal, paving the way for resilient and human-compatible wearable devices.

Until now, producing such materials has been notoriously difficult. Liquid metals are difficult to shape or stabilize, and integrating them into fibers without losing conductivity has been a major materials engineering challenge. The breakthrough came when the Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fiber Devices (FIMAP), led by Professor Fabien Sorin, adapted a method originally designed for making optical fibers — a technique called thermal drawing.

Thermal Drawing: A Scalable Pathway to Smart Textiles

Thermal drawing involves heating and stretching a large “preform” containing the desired material structure into a fine fiber while maintaining the same internal architecture. In this case, the preform contained a mixture of liquid metal droplets suspended in a soft elastomer matrix. As the fiber was drawn, the process generated shear stresses that broke some droplets open, activating conductivity only in specific regions. This allowed the team to precisely control which parts of the fiber were conductive or insulating.

“The ability to tailor electrical properties along a single fiber is a game changer,” explained Ph.D. student and first author Stella Laperrousaz. “We can now design fibers that act as sensors, wires, or circuits — all in one continuous stretchable material.”

A Smart Knee Brace Demonstrates Real-World Potential

To demonstrate their invention, the team embedded these fibers into a soft, flexible knee brace capable of tracking human motion. The brace accurately measured knee bending angles during walking, running, squatting, and jumping — reconstructing the wearer’s movements with remarkable precision. This kind of real-time biomechanical monitoring could be invaluable for rehabilitation medicine, sports performance tracking, and physical therapy.

Unlike conventional strain sensors or rigid electronics, the EPFL fibers integrate naturally into fabrics and can withstand extensive deformation without fatigue. The researchers envision scaling the technique to produce meters or even kilometers of conductive fabric suitable for smart clothing, soft prosthetics, or robotic skins.

Soft Robotics and the Future of Human–Machine Interfaces

The implications of this technology reach far beyond wearable devices. In soft robotics, stretchable electronic fibers could serve as embedded nervous systems that sense motion and pressure, enabling robots to “feel” and adapt to their environment. They could also find use in artificial muscles, where stretchable conductors are required for safe and efficient actuation.

In the realm of healthcare, such materials may lead to a new generation of non-invasive health monitors woven into everyday clothing — continuously tracking vital signs such as joint motion, respiration, or muscle activity. Because the gallium–indium alloy remains stable over a wide temperature range and resists oxidation, these fibers could even function reliably in harsh industrial or outdoor environments.

Toward Scalable, Sustainable Smart Materials

Professor Sorin’s group emphasizes that the technique is both simple and scalable. “Conventional electronic devices are often too rigid to integrate into textiles,” Sorin said. “Our approach overcomes that limitation — it can be scaled up to industrial production and woven directly into fabric.” The team’s next step is to develop large-area textile sensors and test them in robotic limbs and prosthetic systems that require both flexibility and precision.

This new generation of stretchable, liquid-metal-based electronic fibers represents a fusion of materials science, photonics, and biomedical engineering — a glimpse into the future of truly adaptive, responsive, and human-compatible technologies.

Read the full original article on Tech Xplore and explore the scientific publication in Nature Electronics (DOI: 10.1038/s41928-025-01485-0).

This article was prepared with the assistance of AI technologies to enhance clarity, structure, and SEO optimization for the readers of Quantum Server Networks.

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