Electronic skin, created by a team of researchers, may open the way for soft, flexible robotic devices that help with mobility or surgical procedures.
Researchers in Edinburgh have developed stretchy e-skin, which for the first time offers soft robots a level of physical self-awareness comparable to that of humans and animals.
By enabling devices to precisely sense their movement in the most delicate environments, the technology could support advancements in soft robotics, according to researchers.
Robots Skin Made Of
Soft robots with e-skin, which are made of flexible materials rather than metal or hard plastic, could be used as prosthetics, surgical equipment, and gadgets to explore dangerous places, among other things.
Soft robots are much more flexible than conventional rigid robots, which have a limited range of movements.
The development of the sensory systems required for robots to do precise jobs and interact securely with people and the environment faces a significant barrier as a result, according to academics.
Soft robos struggle to comprehend their own motion, shape, and interactions with their surroundings without e-skin.
The University of Edinburgh team is the first to create a solution that gives soft robots extremely precise, real-time sensing capabilities.
A flexible electronic skin comprised of a thin layer of silicone that is embedded with wires and sensitive detectors developed by researchers.
Researchers were able to provide soft robots the ability to quickly perceive their motions and deformations with millimeter accuracy in three dimensions, in real time, using the e-skin, which is 1mm thick.
By attaching an e-skin to a flexible robotic arm, the researchers tested it. They discovered that the system could detect a variety of intricate bending, stretching, and twisting movements throughout the entire gadget.
The study, published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence,
‘The perceptive senses endowed to robotic devices by this new technology are similar to those of people and animals.
This new level of physical self-awareness represents a step change in the sensing capabilities of soft robots,’ said Dr Yunjie Yang, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, who led the study.
‘The flexibility of the technology we have developed means it could be applied to various soft robots to enable them to accurately perceive their own shape and movements.
Ultimately, that means we are now closer to making some of the most exciting ideas in soft robotics a reality,’ said the study’s co-leader Dr Francesco Giorgio-Serchi.
Since the University originally created its first research hubs in the fields 60 years ago, the e-skin is the most recent advancement in computer science and AI.
The University of Edinburgh will celebrate achievements from the last 60 years and look to the future of computer science and AI through a year-long schedule of activities.
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