Robotics

Artificial skin capable of perceiving stimuli at high speed is developed.

Artificial skin capable of perceiving stimuli at high speed is developed.

This finding opens up new possibilities for the creation of prostheses and comes from a team of researchers at the University of Glasgow.

As shown in a video published by the team of engineers in Scotland, it was noted that the machine "feels" pain or at least processes the stimulus in a similar way to pain.

To achieve this breakthrough, the robotic hand was coated with an artificial skin connected to microtransmitters that mimic human nerves, the hand receives the pressure of a sharp object and then when you want to repeat the action, the robotic hand moves away.

For some, this is not a breakthrough, but it opens up the possibility of developing a new generation of intelligent robots with human-like dermal sensitivity.

The development of this artificial skin is the latest breakthrough in flexible, stretchable printed surfaces from the Foldable Electronics and Sensor Technologies (BEST) Group at the University of Glasgow, led by Professor Ravinder Dahiya, who commented "We all learn early on to respond appropriately to unexpected stimuli, such as pain, to prevent us from hurting ourselves again." Precisely on that premise, they developed this technology based on synaptic transistors, which simulate the neural pathways the brain uses to learn, so the robotic hand with the artificial skin doesn't want to get a second jab.

"We believe this is a real step forward in our work to create a large-scale neuromorphic printed electronic skin capable of responding appropriately to stimuli," adds Professor Dahiya.

Fengyuan Liu, a member of the BEST group and co-author of the paper, commented on the potential scope of this new technology "In the future, this research could form the basis of a more advanced electronic skin that allows robots to explore and interact with the world in new ways or to build prostheses capable of reaching near-human levels of tactile sensitivity."

The results, which were also published in the journal Science Robotics, was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, a British institution that provides funding to advance branches such as engineering or physical sciences (EPSRC).

You can read more at:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abl7286

https://youtu.be/QP1nd6jq4L8

12 de Julio, 2022



metodika