NEW YORK: Electronic skin is being developed by scientists in the hopes that it may help with surgical procedures and perhaps benefit those who have movement problems. For the first time, “soft robots” now have a level of physical self-awareness comparable to that of humans and other animals due to stretchy e-skin.
The method, according to researchers at the University of Edinburgh, could result in additional advancements in soft robotics by allowing objects to precisely detect their movements in the most delicate environments. The University of Hong Kong was also a participant in the study, which was published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.
Soft robots with e-skin, which scientists create using flexible materials rather than metal or hard plastics, could be used for a variety of tasks, including prosthetic limbs, surgical equipment, and gadgets that investigate dangerous places while remaining highly flexible. Soft robots struggle to comprehend their own motion, shape, and interactions with their surroundings without e-skin. This creates a significant obstacle in the development of the sensory systems required for robots to perform precise jobs and interact securely with humans.
The research team is the first to create a solution that gives soft robots extremely precise, real-time sensing capabilities, reported Study Finds. A flexible e-skin that is only one millimetre thick and is made of a thin layer of silicone that is embedded with wires and sensitive detectors was developed by researchers. –Agencies
