World’s first 3D e-skin gives robots human-like touching sense | This electronic skin from China can decode pressure, friction, and strain in real time

From the article: Chinese scientists have achieved a technological breakthrough with the development of a three-dimensional (3D) architected electronic skin. First reported by Xinhua News Agency, this innovation can be applied directly to the skin like a band-aid.

This can be used to monitor real-time health data of people with potential applications in biomedical diagnosis and humanoid robots. A brainchild of Professor Zhang Yihui from Tsinghua University, the electronic skin is capable of decoding and sensing three mechanical signals: pressure, friction, and strain.

Electronic skin mimics the sensory functions of human skin
Talking about the development, Professor Zhang revealed that electronic skin is a novel type of sensor that mimics the sensory functions of human skin.

“In the future, it can be installed on the fingertips of medical robots for early diagnosis and treatment, and can also be applied like a band-aid to human skin to monitor health data such as blood oxygen and heart rate in real-time,” he explained.

The electronic skin “has a lot of tactile receptor cells that are densely arranged and have a three-dimensional spatial distribution, which can accurately perceive external stimuli,” he further added.

The simultaneous decoding of pressure, friction, and strain signals presented a significant challenge in the development of this technology. The new electronic skin overcomes this hurdle with a structure mimicking human skin, comprising epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue.