A group of researchers from the University of Houston develops an artificial skin that gives a robotic hand sensitivity.
The revolution in robotics has made us ask what functions robots will perform in the future. Will they act according to the standards of our society or will they be able to harm us? In fact, the European Union (EU) has already set in motion for the creation of a regulation through six laws that normalize coexistence with robots. They are not yet definitive, and their main objective is reduce the impact that the implementation of machines will have on our society.
We already spoke in Blogthinkbig.com of the creation of a robot able to regenerate when cut or damaged. These advances undoubtedly represent a real revolution.
This time, a team of researchers from the University of Houston has created a artificial leather that allows robots to feel and differentiate temperatures. This discovery could be applied in the field of health, both to improve surgical gloves and to monitor constants in patients.
The polymer that allows you to feel
Researchers have implanted this new type of “skin” in a robotic hand capable of feel the temperature both hot and cold from a cup. He was also able to interpret signals sent from a computer, reproducing them in sign language. Although it is still under development, this discovery has immense potential. In the future, it could allow people with prostheses to feel again.
As the team explains, most semiconductor materials, both organic and inorganic, they cannot be stretched mechanically, which makes this find even more impressive. ” It is the first rubber semiconductor that allows stretching without the need for any special mechanical structure, ” said Cunjiang Yu, adjunct professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston.
The new material has been developed by using a silicon-based polymer, known as polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS, together with a hardener material made with nanowires capable of carrying electric current.
Source: University of Houston
Applications: monitoring, implants and wearable devices
Artificial leather is just one of the many applications that can be given to this new material. Researchers have claimed that the discovery of this new component, which is soft, flexible and elastic, it will have an impact on the future development of wearable technologies, in health monitoring devices or in medical implants.
Undoubtedly, day by day new technological advances are presented increasingly complex and sophisticated, with a wide range of possibilities and uses. The applications of these discoveries, especially in the field of health, make them even more essential.
Will these impressive findings ever cease to amaze us?
