Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
New 'Smart-Skin' Senses Pressure, Humidity, Heat
A "smart" skin developed by researchers at the Seoul National University, Republic of Korea, may provide realistic touch sense to robots or prosthetic devices.
(New 'Smart-Skin' Senses Pressure, Humidity, Heat)
Under the leadership of biomedical engineer Dae-Hyeong Kim, the team has developed a skin that can stretch over the entire prosthesis; and its applications aren't just limited to pressure. It's embedded with ultrathin, single crystalline silicone nanoribbon, which enables an array of sensors.These include pressure arrays, of course, but also temperature arrays and associated humidity sensors, strain sensors, electroresistive heaters and stretchable multi-electrode arrays for nerve stimulation.
"This collection of stretchable sensors and actuators facilitate highly localised mechanical and thermal skin-like perception in response to external stimuli, thus providing unique opportunities for emerging classes of prostheses and peripheral nervous system interface technologies," the study's abstract reads.
This skin, according to the study, allows for faster response times -- but also more closely replicates the abilities of real skin to sense the world. For example, temperature and humidity sensors would allow the user to touch a child's forehead and feel whether it was hot and damp enough to indicate a fever.
In his Hugo award-winning 1966 novel This Immortal, Roger Zelazny refers to a robot wrestler named Rolem which is sensitive to pressure and touch:
A worthy opponent was the golem. Hasan had it programmed at twice the statistically-averaged strength of a man and had its reflex-time upped by fifty percent. Its memory contained hundreds of wrestling holds and its governor theoretically prevented it from killing or maiming its opponent - all through a series of chemelectric afferent nerve-analogues, which permitted it to gauge to an ounce the amount of pressure necessary to snap a bone or tear a tendon.
The bionic arm imagined by Martin Caidin in his 1972 novel Cyborg had this capability:
"When you think to pick up an object, what happened before with your original arm is repeated. The electrical impulses generated by your brain command everything... The artificial muscles.. which in this case are silastic and vitallium pulleys, then contract, twist, and tighten. You can even sense with your fingertips..."
Find out more about various attempts to create more realistic humanlike robot skin:
- Artificial Skin Swatches Mass-Produced
This is the creepiest possibility of all. Use actual artificially-produced human skin to cover robots. - Robot Skin Soft Like Yours
Countless tiny hexagonal indentations etched into the urethane epidermis provide it with a very realistic texture. - Sensitive Artificial Skin For Humans, Not Robots
Now kindly DARPA boffins are making sure that human beings will also have sensitive artificial skin. - Robots Get Pressure-Sensitive Skin
Organic field-effect transistors and rubber pressure sensors are used to create a practical artifical skin. - E-Skin For Robots Stretches Like Yours
This new technology is flexible like rubber but has conductivity that is 570 times higher.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/7/2014)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...' - Philip K Dick, 1954.
Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...' - George Parsons Lathrup, 1897.
YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...'
Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...'
Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago
'My cars talk to one another.'
Elegant Bivouac Shelter Produces Water And Electricity
'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft
'You will notice that it... fits the suitcase nicely.'
'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
Will AIs Give Better Results If You're Rude To Them?
'I said, "Listen up, motherf*cker.'
Cybertruck Robotic Arm F10 Drone Launch!
Drone away!
Black Fungus Blocks Radiation
'You were surrounded by Astrophage most of the time'
Liuzhi Process Now In Use In China
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'
