electronic skin tagged posts

A research team from Chemnitz and Dresden has taken a major step forward in the development of sensitive electronic skin (e-skin) with integrated artificial hairs. E-skins are flexible electronic systems that try to mimic the sensitivity of their natural human skin counterparts. Applications range from skin replacement and medical sensors on the body to artificial skin for humanoid robots and androids. Tiny surface hairs can perceive and anticipate the slightest tactile sensation on human skin and even recognize the direction of touch...

A section of “e-skin.” Credit: Jianliang Xiao / University of Colorado Boulder

University of Colorado Boulder researchers have developed a new type of malleable, self-healing and fully recyclable “electronic skin” that has applications ranging from robotics and prosthetic development to better biomedical devices. Electronic skin, known as e-skin, is a thin, translucent material that can mimic the function and mechanical properties of human skin. A number of different types and sizes of wearable e-skins are now being developed in labs around the world as researchers recognize their value in diverse medical, scientific and engineering fields.

The new CU Boulder e-skin has sensors embedded to measure pressure, temperature, humidity and air flow, said Assistant Professor Jianliang Xiao, who is...

A research team led by Professor Kyung-In Jang of Robotics Engineering collects, analyzes, and diagnoses bio-signals wirelessly transmitted to mobile application from the soft electronic skin. Credit: DGIST

A soft, stick-on patch collects, analyzes and wirelessly transmits a variety of health metrics from the body to a smartphone. A new, electronic skin microsystem tracks heart rate, respiration, muscle movement and other health data, and wirelessly transmits it to a smartphone. The electronic skin offers several improvements over existing trackers, including greater flexibility, smaller size, and the ability to stick the self-adhesive patch – which is a very soft silicone about 4cm (1.5 inches) in diameter – just about anywhere on the body..

The electronic skin contains about 50 component...

The researchers are currently experimenting with carbon-based self-healing composites and self-healing transistors. (Stock image) Credit: © praisaeng / Fotolia

Flexible sensors have been developed for use in electronics, robotics, health care, and space flight. Future possible applications could include the creation of ‘electronic skin’ and prosthetic limbs that allow wearers to ‘feel’ changes in their environments.

One problem with current flexible sensors they can be easily scratched and otherwise damaged, potentially destroying functionality. Researchers in the Dept of Chemical Engineering at the Technion, Israel, who were inspired by the healing properties in human skin, have developed materials that can be integrated into flexible devices to “heal” incidental scratches or cuts...