New ‘artificial skin’ is more sensitive than human skin in some ways

Researchers have developed an "artificial skin" that is more sensitive than human skin in some ways. A robot equipped with the skin was able to differentiate between materials like polymers, metals, and human skin without "touching" them.

The artificial skin is a soft spongy material with ionic liquids inside and electrodes on the surface. The ionic liquids ensure the skin has ultra-high sensitivity. (Image credit: Yifan Wang / NTU)

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Scientists have created an artificial skin, which they claim, has higher sensitivity towards detecting pressure than human skin. A robot, on which the artificial skin was tested, was able to classify material including polymers, metals, and human skin without directly coming in contact with them.

“The artificial skin is a soft spongy material with ionic liquids inside and electrodes on the surface. The ionic liquids ensure the skin has ultra-high sensitivity. The skin can detect the approaching external objects even before contacting, and classify what type of material it is. In the future, we could also include new capabilities like temperature sensing, texture sensing, etc.,” said Yifan Wang, corresponding author of a research paper published in the journal Small.

To construct the device, a porous PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) sponge is immersed in an ionic liquid to increase its dielectric properties. After this, two flexible conductive fabrics are attached at two ends to function as electrodes. According to Wang, the device’s fabrication is scalable and cost-effective. The researchers also found that it is fairly durable.

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The scientists used the “dual-responsive” artificial skin in a variety of applications, including for the manipulation of virtual game characters, navigation of electronic maps, and scrolling through electronic documents. During the research, they found that the artificial skin is able to detect distinct signals even from approaching targets.

Based on this, they developed a proof-of-concept where a robot was able to classify materials without even touching them. They envisage that this technology can be used on next-generation electronics to power human-machine interfaces, prosthetics and augmented reality.

“The technology can be used for robotic packing, gripping, and classification of products in factories, which are traditionally done by human workers. The research can be further connected to industrial applications such as intelligent robotic systems or prostheses,” added Wang.

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