Home Technology Artificial Intelligence Chinese scientists develop e-skin to give robots sense of touch The soft gel e-skin mimics the properties of human skin, with features like stretchability and self-healing ability by Divsha Bhat April 10, 2023 Chinese researchers have developed a new type of electronic skin (e-skin), enabling robots to navigate their surroundings through touch in the dark when visibility is limited, state news agency Xinhua reported. The soft gel e-skin has a tape-like appearance and mimics the properties of human skin, with features like stretchability and self-healing ability. It is also able to detect changes in temperature and pressure, further enhancing its utility for use in robots. Chinese researchers have developed a new type of electronic skin, enabling robots to navigate their surroundings through touch in the dark when visibility is limited https://t.co/eBNH1lXS0R pic.twitter.com/3Vejbruyt2 — China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 6, 2023 A major difficulty in e-skin development has long been the lack of suitable composites with both physicochemical and sensory properties like human skin. The team of researchers from Southeast University found the solution by developing this new e-skin based on natural silk, a protein material. They also added water-adsorbing calcium ions, weakly acidic hydrogen ions, and two-dimensional nanomaterials sensitive to environmental stimulus to synthesise the e-skin. “It has all the desired skin-like physicochemical properties, such as stretchability, self-healing ability, weak acidity and antibacterial activities, and it senses ambient temperature, pressure and humidity once powered on,” said Duan Shengshun, a member of the research team. “The e-skin heals itself,” Duan added, noting that a skin graft can be easily done by attaching a new piece to the scratched piece. Read: The key sectors where robots are expected to play a pivotal role Tags Artificial Intelligence China Robot 0 Comments You might also like China bans export of rare earths processing tech over national security How banks are leveraging the power of GenAI India’s economy follows China to reach rapid take off: Kemp Europe agrees landmark AI regulation deal