Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Touch Sensitive Artificial Skin - a milestone in Robotics!

What a development in Robotics!!!!

You know, engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have successfully engineered electronic skin that can detect the gentlest of touch, which is considered to be a major step towards Gen-next robotics. The technology may help robots feel and give the sense of touch back to those with prosthetic limbs.

A lead researcher of California has developed 'e-Skin' that comprises of matrix of nanowires made of germanium and silicon.


A touch-sensitive artificial skin would help overcome a key challenge in robotics: adapting the amount of force needed to hold and manipulate a wide range of objects. This "e-skin" is also stronger than its competing organic materials. The synthetic skin can either be transferred to another material like a plastic or glass by either directly transferring it over from a flat substrate which is then 'rubbed' onto a polymer film made of polyamide. It can also be 'rolled' onto the surface using a device that works much like a lint roller in reverse; the fibers are deposited to a sticky surface rather than picked up.

The e-skin can detect pressure ranging from 0-15 kilopascals which is similar to the pressure needed to perform daily activities.

Absolutely a wonderful growth in robotics field!

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