Self-regenerating & reusable "artificial skin" is presented by giving robot "sense of skin"

ByUniversity of Colorado Boulder

The research team of the University of Colorado Boulder announced that it developed artificial skin (electronic artificial skin) that can self-heal the tissue and can incorporate sensors such as pressure and temperature. Since this electronic artificial skin can be flexibly affixed along the surface of a robot or human skin, it is possible for the robot arm to sense the pressure when holding the object, and also to allow the human body to feel the flow of air It is possible to detect and transmit temperature and others.

Rehealable, fully recyclable, and malleable electronic skin enabled by dynamic covalent thermoset nanocomposite | Science Advances
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/eaaq0508

New malleable'electronic skin'self-healable, recyclable | CU Boulder Today | University of Colorado Boulder
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2018/02/09/new-malleable-electronic-skin-self-healable-recyclable

Electronic artificial skin developed by the research team at the University of Colorado is expected to reduce the environmental burden by suppressing the cost, "fitting ability" to fit the curved surface and "healing ability" to heal the skin itself when certain treatment is applied "Thorough recyclability" is provided as a unique feature.

Electronic artificial skin is an artificial skin with flexible materials with built-in electronic equipment and electric circuits such as sensors.

Electronic artificial skin (E-skin) that is thinner than the skin and super flexible substrate and LED is attached and stickily attached to the skin will be developed - GIGAZINE


Due to its flexibility, it becomes possible to paste on a complex surface such as a hand shape, and it is expected to give a feeling of "skin" to a robot, a human's prosthetic hand, etc. and to record the feeling.

ByLoz Pycock

This flexibility is the mainstream of current electronic circuitsPrinted circuit board (PCB)Features that do not have. Since many of PCBs are the prerequisite technology for making electronic circuits on hard flat materials, it is difficult to make electronic circuits on curved surfaces like hands and arms.

Byddewaele 2000 test

It is an electronic artificial skin that seems to be strangely good compared to PCB, but there are two big problems. It is "cost" and "performance". Electronic artificial skin includes silicon, nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes, graphene, etc.Organic transistorBy using, you can build an electronic circuit while being flexible. However, as it is being developed, it is currently difficult to create both cost and performance compatibility.


In 2017Electronic artificial skin announced by the University of HoustonUses rubber and polymer as a material to make it stretchable, but in order to reduce costs at the time of mass production, instead of using advanced polymers used during the research "at low cost ordinary We are planning to select a method that uses distributed alternatives ".

ByUniversity of Houston

On the other hand, advanced polymer is also used for the electronic artificial skin which was announced by the University of Colorado Boulder. However, some materials are used at low cost with ordinary distribution, so we can expect production at low cost.

ByUniversity of Colorado Boulder

And there are two other features that make it possible for cost reduction of electronic artificial skin that was announced. The first is "100% of the material can be recycled and reused". If it breaks, break up the electronic artificial skin including the sensor and mix it in the ethyl alcohol together with the material, it can be reused as a material by uncoupling the polymer of the material, and nanoparticles used in electronic circuits etc. Level of silver precipitates at the bottom of the solution, so we can reuse it as well.


The second feature is that "artificial skin self heals". If the damage is a little discontinued, if you heat up to 80 degrees Celsius and press it, it returns to the original state. The main reason for creating these characteristics is that newly developed "covalently bonded polymers" and "nanoparticle level silver" are used for the material. The covalent bonding of the polymer makes it possible to heal as it is combined again with the heat of the above treatment and pressing. In addition, since silver at the nanoparticle level can be reused, it is possible to reduce the cost.


According to Jianliang Xiao, an associate professor involved as one of the mechanical engineers in the development of this artificial skin, the significance of the development of electronic artificial skin this time, "The unique and unique characteristics of electronic artificial skin was made from polymer Polyimine chemical bonds can be cured at room temperature and materials can be reused 100% Every year in the world millions of tons of electronic waste are produced.The recyclability of our electronic artificial skin is It has economic and environmental implications. "

Bymanowar 064

Wei Zhang of Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder said, "Electronic artificial skin is a popular movie"TerminatorIt seems to be an artificial skin of a villain's android appearing in ". It seems to be the scene of a movie that self-plays in and soon even if Android is hit by a car, beaten strongly, and shot with a gun. "

ByDick Thomas Johnson

There are other features of electronic artificial skin, which means "it can be mounted on a complex shape curved surface". It has super elasticity and flexibility comparable to natural skin, which makes it possible to mount on complex surfaces such as human and robot's arms.

ByLisa Moffatt

Mr. Zhang talks about the future as follows. Let's say, for example, let's say that the robot takes care of a baby, the robot feels the baby's body feeling with the electronic artificial skin worn on the finger and can adjust the robot's own finger according to the softness of the baby's body The idea of ​​this artificial skin is a challenge to realize the skin of living organisms with the function of electronic artificial skin. "

ByJeena Paradies