Smart skin technology
The University of Texas at Arlington has patented a smart skin, created by a UTA researcher, that will give robots more sensitive tactile feeling than humans.
“The idea is to have robots work better alongside people,” said Zeynep Çelik-Butler, a UTA electrical engineering professor. “The smart skin is actually made up of millions of flexible nanowire sensors that take in so much more information than people’s skin. As the sensors brush against a surface, the robot collects all the information those sensors send back.”
Çelik-Butler said the sensors, which are flexible and made of zinc oxide nanorods, are self-powered and do not need any external voltage for operation. Each is about 0.2 microns in diameter, while a human hair is about 40 to 50 microns.
In addition, the developed sensors were fully packaged in a chemical and moisture resistant polyimide that greatly enhances usability in harsh environments. The result is a thin, flexible, self-powered tactile sensing layer, suitable as a robotic or prosthetic skin.
The smart skin technology allows the robots to sense temperature changes and surface variations, which would allow a person alongside the robot to be safer or react accordingly.
Other possible future applications include adhering the smart skin to prosthetics to equip them with some feeling, applying the technology to other medical devices, weaving the skin into the uniform of a combat soldier so that any toxic chemicals could be detected or fingerprint identification.
“These sensors are highly sensitive and if they were brushed over a partial fingerprint, the technology could help identify who that person is,” Çelik-Butler said. “Imagine people being able to ascertain a person’s identity with this hairy robot, as my students call it.”
Teri Schultz, director of technology management in the UTA Office of Research, said the technology shows promise in a number of commercial sectors.
“Robots are the here and now,” Schultz said. “We could see this technology develop with the next generation of robots to allow them to be more productive in helping people.”
Learn more: UTA patent gives robots ultra-sensitive skin
The Latest on: Smart skin
via Google News
The Latest on: Smart skin
- Style File: Smart sunscreenson July 1, 2022 at 11:21 am
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Skin cancers are the most ...
- QCS concludes skin cancer awareness campaignon July 1, 2022 at 10:15 am
Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) recently concluded the 'Be sun smart' campaign to raise awareness about skin cancer to emphasise the importance of following precautions when exposed to sunlight, with UV ...
- The Medical Minute: Sunscreen is still a smart way to protect your skinon July 1, 2022 at 7:38 am
Summer has arrived and with it so have dreams of beach vacations, trips to the waterpark and outdoor activities. After months of winter's colder temperatures, you're ready to get outside in search of ...
- Israeli smart fabric uses electricity to fast-track repair of nerveson July 1, 2022 at 2:37 am
Silicone-based invention being developed for human use after proving itself on rats; it wraps damaged nerves and electrically stimulates them using energy from light shone on skin ...
- Ionic skin could improve prosthetic deviceson June 30, 2022 at 10:04 pm
Photo: Kai Jacobson/UBC Faculty of Applied Science Researchers have worked to build a smart skin that can mimic the sensing capabilities of natural skin, but until now, this has been elusive. A team ...
- Smart earbud will measure how astronauts sleepon June 30, 2022 at 1:18 pm
Sleep is important for our health and well-being, and bad sleep can negatively impact our attention span, memory, decision-making skills, creativity and judgment.
- Wander Beauty's New SPF Leaves My Skin Glowy and Hydratedon June 29, 2022 at 4:08 pm
One of my biggest skin concerns is fading my dark spots and hyperpigmentation. No matter how many retinols, vitamin C serums, or dark-spot correctors I use, I know sunscreen is the key to actually ...
- Sequential awarded prestigious Innovate UK SMART Grant to propel understanding of skin microbiome forwardon June 29, 2022 at 3:09 am
LONDON and NEW YORK and SINGAPORE, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequential Skin Ltd, a leading skin genomics start-up, has been awarded an ...
- Sequential Skin Ltd: Sequential awarded prestigious Innovate UK SMART Grant to propel understanding of skin microbiome forwardon June 28, 2022 at 10:06 pm
LONDON and NEW YORK and SINGAPORE, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequential Skin Ltd, a leading skin genomics start-up, has been awarded an Innovate UK SMART Grant to fund a project on advancing ...
via Bing News
