This work aims at describing the mechanical response of divided materials such as aqueous foams and granular materials. These systems exhibit a solid-like behavior under moderate shear, and flow plastically beyond a threshold strain. The local nature of plastic events and the long range elastic interactions are responsible for the existence of characteristic mechanisms such as strain localization, intermittency or strain-induced aging. We have probed them using various experimental and numerical approaches that combine local and global measurements. We have also developed spatially resolved measurements of interfacial deformations at frictional joints. Among them, we have developed a tribological sensor, based on the use of MEMS micro-force sensors, which allows one to monitor the friction-induced stress at the bottom of a thin elastic film. This sensor, which provides a rudimentary analogue of the mechanoreceptor/skin system, was used to study the transduction of tactile information in human touch, through a bio-mimetic approach.
