To achieve conformal and monolithic integration between biological tissues and electronic systems, the development of high- performance soft conductors is essential. We have engineered functional nanocomposites and nanomembranes by synthesizing and assembling shape-controlled nanomaterials and strategically embedding them within soft elastomers. As a result, we developed nanocomposites and nanomembranes with outstanding electrical and mechanical properties, including high stretchability (^(M)Science, 2021), strain-insensitivity (^(ⅰ)Advanced Materials, 2022), and metal-like conductivity (^(ⅱ)Advanced Materials, 2023), and isotropic electrical properties (^(ⅲ)Advanced Materials, 2025). Furthermore, we synthesized core-shell nanowires for longer material stability (^(ⅳ)Nature Nanotechnology, 2018) and demonstrated their applicability in soft bio-interfacing for heart (^(ⅴ)Science Translational Medicine, 2016) and peripheral nerve (^(ⅵ)Advanced Materials, 2021 ). By bridging nanoscale material innovation and biomedical device application, our research aims to advance the field of biomedical engineering.

Hydrogels possess mass-permeable, ultra-soft, and low-impedance material properties. These characteristics make functionalized hydrogel-based stretchable bioelectronics well-suited for achieving high-quality, stable, long-term tissue-device interfaces. For example, a highly conductive and adhesive hydrogel engineered with nanomaterials was introduced (^(ⅰ)Advanced Materials, 2024), enabling efficient electroceutical applications. Furthermore, we are advancing both material systems and fabrication techniques that allow for precise patterning and seamless integration of functionalized hydrogels with flexible and stretchable bioelectronics, crucial for optimizing the device performance (^(ⅱ)Science Advances, 2021; ^(ⅲ)Science Advances, 2024; ^(M)Science Advances, 2026). Such integration enhances device functionality, enabling real-time health monitoring through advanced sensing capabilities. These innovative technologies hold great promise for a wide range of applications, including rehabilitation, long-term health monitoring, point-of-care treatment, and disease prevention.

Nanoscale materials, such as 2D materials and carbon nanotubes, have emerged as promising building blocks for next-generation post-silicon electronics owing to their atomically thin structures, exceptional electrical and optical properties, and outstanding mechanical flexibility. Our research focuses on the development of nanomaterial-based electronic platforms for future soft electronics. For example, we demonstrated a human eye-inspired soft optoelectronic device incorporating a curved image sensor array based on MoS₂–graphene heterostructures (^(ⅰ)Nature Communications, 2017). More recently, we engineered covalent heterostructures of ultrathin amorphous carbon nitride and silicon, which enabled high-performance vertical photodiodes (^(M)Nature Synthesis, 2025) for ultrathin image sensing systems. For stretchable logic circuits and active matrix operation, we also developed a stretchable carbon nanotube transistor array using a vacuum-deposited polymer dielectric (^(ⅱ)Nature Electronics, 2023).

Soft implantable bioelectronics create engineered interfaces that mechanically match internal organs, enabling stable, low-impedance coupling with moving organs. We design device architectures and wireless systems, ensuring reliable operation under continuous dynamic deformation (^(M)Nature Electronics, 2026). In detail, we developed high-efficiency wireless communication and power-transfer technologies suitable for deep-tissue implantation (^(ⅰ)Science Advances, 2022; ^(ⅱ)Nature Physics, 2026), enabling continuous monitoring of electrophysiological and hemodynamic signals essential for detecting arrhythmia, ischemia, and early heart-failure progression with minimum power consumption and reliable long-range wireless power transfer. We also engineered minimally invasive sensors, soft stimulators, and compact RF-ablation tools to reduce surgical burden and increase procedural precision in interventional medicine (^(ⅲ)Nature Communications, 2015; ^(ⅳ)Advanced Materials, 2024). In addition, our conformal multichannel epicardial electrode arrays provide high-resolution conduction mapping and targeted modulation of arrhythmogenic regions (^(ⅴ)Science Advances, 2023). Cell-sheet–based approaches further offer complementary potential for tissue regeneration (^(ⅵ)Nature Communications, 2019). Together, these technologies establish a foundation for next-generation, closed-loop cardiac bioelectronic systems (^(ⅶ)Nature Reviews Bioengineering, 2024) for personalized cardiovascular diagnostics and therapy.

Focusing on the development of quantum dot-based flexible and stretchable displays, our research group is dedicated to pioneering advancements in next-generation display technologies. We proposed high-efficiency full-color QLED arrays using high-resolution intaglio transfer printing (^(ⅰ)Nature Communications, 2015). We also developed an ultrathin skin-attachable QLED display (^(ⅱ)Advanced Materials, 2017) that can visualize various information acquired from wearable electronics. Furthermore, we demonstrated highly bright and transparent QD-LEDs (^(ⅲ)Advanced Materials, 2017) with an ultrathin form factor and high color purity. Based on ultrathin QLEDs, we reported 3D foldable QLEDs (^(ⅳ)Nature Electronics, 2021), utilizing controlled folding techniques to create customized 3D architectures. We also developed intrinsically stretchable QLEDs (^(M)Nature Electronics, 2024; ^(ⅴ)Nature Nanotechnology, 2026) featuring high power density, high patterning resolution, and excellent color purity. Recent developments in stretchable QD color converters have further expanded the potential of stretchable display technologies (^(ⅵ)Advanced Materials, 2025).

Bio-inspired artificial vision systems draw inspiration from structural and functional characteristics of natural visual organs to overcome the limitations of conventional camera technologies. Unlike traditional planar imaging systems that rely heavily on complex optics and computational post-processing, bio-inspired imaging platforms can achieve wide field-of-view imaging, reduced optical aberration, enhanced depth perception, and energy-efficient image processing through hardware-level optimization inspired by biological eyes and neural vision pathways. By leveraging the strategies employed by natural vision systems, novel high-performance imaging systems can thereby be developed. Specifically, we have developed a range of AI-native imaging systems inspired by various natural vision systems, including human (^(ⅰ)Nature Nanotechnology, 2022; ^(M)Nature Materials, 2026; ^(ⅱ)Nature Electronics, 2026), fish (^(ⅲ)Nature Electronics, 2020), fiddler crab (^(ⅳ)Nature Electronics, 2022), and cat (^(ⅴ)Science Advances, 2024) vision systems. These artificial vision systems can be integrated with mobile robots such as humanoid robots, submarines, unmanned vehicles, and drones to minimize computational load and latency in edge-level image processing and enable real-time perception and intelligent decision-making in complex environments.

Our research in in-sensor computing for artificial robot vision lies at the forefront of integrating advanced sensor architectures with embedded computational capabilities to enhance robotic perception. For example, a curved neuromorphic image sensor array based on MoS₂-organic and IGZO-organic heterostructures (^(ⅰ)Nature Communications, 2020; ^(ⅱ)Science Advances, 2022) demonstrates how bio-inspired design can optimize signal processing, reduce computational overhead, and improve the efficiency of semantic segmentation (^(ⅲ)Science Advances, 2025). In addition, the development of an anti-distortion bio-inspired camera featuring an inhomogeneous photo-pixel array (^(ⅳ)Nature Communications, 2024) introduces innovative strategies for mitigating image distortion in complex environments. AI-native imaging systems inspired by various natural vision systems, such as the cuttlefish (^(ⅴ)Science Robotics, 2023) and hawk (^(M)Science Robotics, 2024) eyes, enable a significant reduction in computational load for object detection, recognition, and tracking. Collectively, these breakthroughs underscore our commitment to pioneering next-generation human-friendly robotic systems.

Our research on unconventional energy harvesting, storage, and saving devices aims to provide sustainable and clean energy solutions. We developed stretchable energy harvesting systems and wearable energy storage devices suitable for integration with mobile electronics(^(ⅰ)Advanced Materials, 2014). Furthermore, we introduced biocompatible and biodegradable batteries (^(ⅱ)Advanced Materials, 2021), specially designed for safe and long-term operation in human-friendly electronic systems. To improve the portability and practical usability of wearable and implantable electronics, we also developed a high-quality flexible thin-film battery utilizing a damage-free dry transfer method (^(M)Nature Materials, 2024). In addition, we developed transparent and colored photovoltaic devices for sustainable and distributed solar power generation (^(ⅲ)Nature Communications, 2022) by using high-resolution spin-on-patterning technique for perovskite thin films (^(ⅳ)Advanced Materials, 2017). Recently, passive cooling devices for energy saving strategies (^(ⅴ)Advanced Materials, 2025) were also explored. Collectively, these technologies represent a step forward in energy device technologies for a sustainable energy future.