Robots can also feel: Stanford University builds electronic skin that can communicate with the brain

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a digital electronic skin that can convert sensations such as heat and pressure into electrical signals and transmit them through implants. The electrodes inserted into the human brain are read.

The electronic skin is soft and stretchable while also being able to imitate touch and operate efficiently at low voltages

This electronic skin is as soft as real leather, with conversion elements seamlessly embedded in it, and is only a few inches thick There are tens of nanometers. This development creates the possibility for a more natural interaction between artificial intelligence prosthetics and the brain, and also lays the foundation for building robots that can "feel" human sensations such as pain, pressure and temperature.

One of the participants in the project, Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University, said: "Our dream is to build a complete hand with multiple sensors that can sense pressure, strain, temperature and vibration, Then we were able to provide a real sensation."

The new electronic skin operates on just 5 volts and can detect stimuli similar to real skin, providing a sensor that is comparable to polysilicon transistors. Comparable electrical performance such as low voltage drive, low power consumption and moderate circuit integration.

A key reason people give up using prosthetics is that the lack of sensory feedback makes them feel unnatural and uncomfortable, researchers say. The electronic skin was first tested on the brain cells of rats, with the animals twitching their legs when their cerebral cortexes were stimulated, with the intensity corresponding to stress levels. "Electronic skin erases the boundaries between living things and machine components," say the researchers. Their report, "The disappearing boundary between living things and machines," was published this week in the journal Science.

As early as March last year, scientists from the University of Edinburgh announced a related development. They created an electronic skin composed of thin layers of silicon embedded with wires and sensitive detectors that "enables soft robots to sense things just millimeters away from them and in all directions at extremely fast speeds." This development is "the first time Giving robots a level of physical self-awareness similar to humans and animals.”

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