Human skin is difficult to duplicate because it is not only flexible, tactile and self healing. However, the latest discoveries by scientists are giving such characteristics to robotic skin.
Do you think only the life of the skin is flexible and compressive, tactile, self-healing? Recent research shows that robotic skin can and may even perform better than human skin.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow in the UK used graphene to develop an electronic robot skin that is more tactile than human hands.
According to foreign media reports, Glasgow University professor Ravinder Dahiya said the newly developed robot skin is essentially a tactile sensor that scientists will use to create more lightweight prostheses and softer, more natural-looking robots on the surface.
This sensor is also the first step toward softer robots and more sensitive touch screen sensors.
This low-power smart robot skin is made of a layer of monatomic layer graphene. The power per square centimeter of skin is 20 nanoWatt, which is equivalent to the lowest quality photovoltaic cell available at the moment. While the skin‘s photovoltaic cells can not store the energy they generate, engineering teams are exploring ways to transfer unused energy to the battery for use when needed.
Graphene is a new type of nanomaterial found to be the thinnest, the largest in strength and the most conductive and thermally conductive. Due to its good strength, flexibility, electrical conductivity and other characteristics, it has great potential in the fields of physics, materials science and electronic information.
In terms of optical properties, some studies have shown that single-layer graphene absorbs only 2.3% of light in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths.
"The real challenge is how to get the sun through the skin that covers the PV cells." Ravinder‘s comments on Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced Functional Materials.
"No matter what kind of light, 98% can reach the solar cell." Dahiya told the BBC that the electricity generated by the solar cell is used to create the sense of touch. "Its touch is one order of magnitude better than the human skin."
The skin gives the robotic arm the proper press feedback to give it better control over the force of the grasping object, even fragile eggs can be steadily picked up and lowered.
Dahiya said: "The next step is to develop a power generation technology that supports this research and use it to drive a hand-cranked motor, which will allow us to create a completely energy-conscious prosthesis."
In addition, this superior performance robot skin is not expensive, Dahiya said, 5-10 square centimeters of new skin costs only $ 1. In fact, graphene can do much more than give the robot a keen sense of touch, it can also help robotic skin to heal.
According to futurism reports, Indian scientists are in journals
The latest research published by Open Physics found that graphene has a powerful self-healing function. Scientists hope that this feature can be applied to the field of sensors, so that robots and humans have the same skin self repair function.
The traditional metal robot skin less ductile, prone to cracks and damage. However, if the subnanometer sensor made of graphene can sense the crack, the robot‘s skin can prevent the crack from further expanding and even repair the crack. Research data shows that when the fracture exceeds the critical displacement threshold, automatic repair function will automatically start.
"We wanted to observe the self-healing behavior of virgin and defective monolayer graphene through the molecular dynamics simulation process while also observing the performance of graphene in the localization of sub-nanometer sensor fissures." In an interview, the lead author of the paper Swati Ghosh Acharyya said: "We were able to observe the self-healing behavior of graphene at room temperature without any external stimuli."
Researchers from India said the technology will be put to immediate use, perhaps the next generation of robots.