Fast scintillators with a spectroscopic gamma response are essential in nuclear security and medical imaging. However, few individual scintillation materials exhibit both fast scintillation decay and high photopeak energy resolution. We report a nanocomposite scintillator comprising 40 wt % of hafnium oxide nanoparticles uniformly dispersed in a luminescent plastic matrix. The nanoparticles have an average diameter of 4.2 nm and are covalently attached to the polymer matrix to prevent agglomeration and thus achieve high optical transparency across nanocomposite monoliths up to 8.5 mm thick. The measured transmittance is around 80% across the emission range. Gamma pulse scintillation has a fast decay time constant of 2.5 ns and high light output of 8000-9000 photons/MeV. The gamma scintillation shows energy proportionality from 32 to 1275 keV. A 1.93 cm3 nanocomposite produces photopeaks at 32 and 662 keV for 137Cs and at 511 and 1275 keV for 22Na. The photopeak energy resolution at 662 keV is 7.2-9.1%.

Existing haptic actuators are often rigid and limited in their ability to replicate real-world tactile sensations. We present a wearable haptic artificial muscle skin (HAMS) based on fully soft, millimeter-scale, multilayer dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) capable of significant out-of-plane deformation, a capability that typically requires rigid or liquid biasing. The DEAs use a thickness-varying multilayer structure to achieve large out-of-plane displacement and force, maintaining comfort and wearability. Experimental results demonstrate that HAMS can produce complex tactile feedback with high perception accuracy. Moreover, we show that HAMS can be integrated into extended reality (XR) systems, enhancing immersion and offering potential applications in entertainment, education, and assistive technologies.