Key idea: Researchers at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University have developed a new artificial skin for robots that can sense a wider variety of stimuli than normal skin, making it much more complex and capable than regular human skin.
Original author and publication date: First Post staff – January 26, 2023
Futurizonte Editor’s Note: The artificial (or synthetic) human, Star Trek’s Data style, is getting closer and closer
From the article:
A team of researchers and scientists at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore are all set to make robots more capable than humans. The researchers claim that they have developed artificial skin which has more sensing capabilities than regular human skin and can respond to a wider variety of stimuli.
The team from Nanyang Technological University have created what they are calling dual-responsive artificial skin. Instead of only detecting pressure that is applied to it, the skin can also sense the object’s approach. “We created artificial skin with sensing capabilities superior to human skin,” said Yifan Wang, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
“Unlike human skin that senses most information from touching actions, this artificial skin also obtains rich cognitive information encoded in touchless or approaching operations. The work could lead to next-generation robotic perception technologies superior to existing tactile sensors” he added.
The new artificial skin has a lot of potential applications, but it will primarily be used for robotics, especially in second-generation electronics that are based on human-machine interfaces.
The newly developed artificial skin can also be a great fit for prostheses, offering amputees new ways of feeling and sensing objects.
