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Abstract Human machine interfaces that can track head motion will result in advances in physical rehabilitation, improved augmented reality/virtual reality systems, and aid in the study of human behavior. This paper presents a head position monitoring and classification system using thin flexible strain sensing threads placed on the neck of an individual. A wireless circuit module consisting of impedance readout circuitry and a Bluetooth module records and transmits strain information to a computer. A data processing algorithm for motion recognition provides near real-time quantification of head position. Incoming data is filtered, normalized and divided into data segments. A set of features is extracted from each data segment and employed as input to nine classifiers including Support Vector Machine, Naive Bayes and KNN for position prediction. A testing accuracy of around 92% was achieved for a set of nine head orientations. Results indicate that this human machine interface platform is accurate, flexible, easy to use, and cost effective. 

A precise-yet-passive liquid sampling and delivery device that can be implanted or ingested has the potential to revolutionize diagnostics and drug delivery. We propose natural capillary action in highly structured hydrophilic threads as a precise liquid volume measuring device with nano-liter resolution. Consequently, the threads were used to accurately calibrate small liquid handling pipettes with working range from 0.2 – 5 μL. 

Technologies capable of noninvasively sampling different locations in the gut upstream of the colon enable new insights into the role of organ‐specific microbiota in human health. Herein, an ingestible, biocompatible, battery‐less, 3D‐printed microengineered pill with an integrated osmotic sampler and microfluidic channels for in vivo sampling of the gut lumen and its microbiome upstream of the colon is discussed. The pill's sampling performance is characterized using realistic in vitro models and validated in vivo in pigs and primates. Herein, the results show that the bacterial populations recovered from the pill's microfluidic channels closely resemble the bacterial population demographics of the microenvironment to which the pill is exposed. Herein, it is believed that such lab‐on‐a‐pill devices revolutionize the understanding of the spatial diversity of the gut microbiome and its response to medical conditions and treatments.