This new robot skin can glow, stretch – and walk

A newly developed artificial skin can both sense and respond to pressure or touch, and it could represent a more human future for robotics.

|
Courtesy Cornell University
Researchers at Cornell University have built an artificial skin that can glow and even crawl when pressure is applied.

Most electronics can't handle pressure, and even wearable tech does not respond well when stretched to 500 percent of its original size. 

A new, cell phone-sized artificial skin developed at Cornell University, however, not only stretches under pressure, but also glows all the brighter.

"It’s actually much, much, much more stretchable than human skin or octopus skin," says Chris Larson, a doctoral candidate and researcher in Cornell's Organic Robotics Lab. "In terms of texture, it’s actually more like a rubber band or a balloon."

Some are comparing the new technology to "octopus skin," though Larson says he has more experience with the cutting-edge technology than with the cephalopod. He and his colleagues describe their findings Thursday in the journal Science.

The octopus comparison comes from an octopus beak, with its potential to move and stretch. The team was inspired by biology to create a balloon that bends when pressurized. The team placed an unyielding carbon fiber on the bottom and left the top free to respond to the pressure from both within and without.

"The researchers created a three-chamber robot from the material, with the newly developed 'skin' layers on top, and inflatable layers below that allow movement," according to a release from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "As the chambers expand linearly, the robot moves forward with a worm-like wiggle."

Such electronic skin is not a completely new invention. These skins can generally sense pressure, meaning they send a signal when touched to a computer, and it interprets and responds accordingly. They have not, however, been able to accept embedded electronics, which generally break when molded or stretched. The team's innovative solution to this problem is a hyperelastic, light-emitting capacitor (HLEC).

"Our system has that same capability [to sense pressure] but it also can emit light," Larson says. “So the type of skin that we’ve been able to develop is actually more similar to that of an octopus.”

A robot with this artificial skin moves with what researchers in the study described as an "undulating gait." And as it moves, it can glow even more brightly. Larson compares it to a sheet of rubber – when pulled in one direction, it compresses perpendicular to the line upon which it is stretched.

The glow results from the skin's embedded electric field, and it can glow in a variety of colors, depending on which of a series of metal powders are chosen for the mix. The technology is not unlike that of a car dashboard, or the exit signs in buildings, and the team sees potential for the skin in industry, where robots and humans are already working side by side. 

"We can take these pixels that change color and put them on these robots, and now we have the ability to change their color," said Rob Shepherd, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell, in a press release. "Why is that important? For one thing, when robots become more and more a part of our lives, the ability for them to have emotional connection with us will be important. So to be able to change their color in response to mood or the tone of the room we believe is going to be important for human-robot interactions."

It could also have short-term applications, as the team is already talking with several American automobile companies about replacing touch-screen interfaces, which require a driver to look away from the road, with a potentially light-emitting "button" that responds to human touch in both an electronic and tactile manner.

Larson says he also sees the potential for wearable tech that sits elegantly on the skin – and stretches under pressure.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to This new robot skin can glow, stretch – and walk
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0303/This-new-robot-skin-can-glow-stretch-and-walk
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe