(ORDO NEWS) — Researchers at the Technical University of Chemnitz in Germany have developed a new type of electronic skin, the E-skin, which contains tiny embedded hairs.
The invention is a thin film of material with electronic properties. They allow it to have some of the functions of natural human skin. For example, to feel touch, pressure, temperature and even pain.
However, the most important thing in the invention is that the E-skin contains a new type of sensor that makes the artificial skin more sensitive to touch.
The breakthrough was achieved by imitating an important factor in human touch – tiny hairs that are embedded in the skin, writes Reedus.
The specialists embedded tiny magnetic hairs into an elastomeric material. These artificial hairs, like natural hair, have convex roots in the thickness of the electronic skin, which move when you touch the hair.
As noted, each of these roots is surrounded by a three-dimensional magnetic sensor, which allows you to track the exact position of the root in real time. Due to this, the entire sensor matrix registers not only the touch to the hair, but also the direction of this touch.
Scientists believe that artificial skin may be useful in the future for patients who need transplants due to serious injuries. Also, the invention can be used in robotics to impart a developed sense of touch to prostheses and robots.
Previously, the University of Illinois developed ink that replaces human tissue.
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