Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin, also known as sensate skin, is an electronic sensing skin placed on the surface of a machine such as a robotic arm. The goal of the skin is to sense important environmental parameters--such as proximity to objects, heat, moisture, and direct touch sensations. Examples of a sensitive skin have been made by a group in Tokyo led by Takao Someya.

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The group's work has been published in Proceedings of the (United States) National Academy of Sciences. At this point they have shown pressure and temperature measurements at a resolution of a few millimeters.

The sensor arrays are based on many organic thin film transistors that are turned on one at a time and the current that flows through the sensor (electrical resistance-based) tells you how much pressure is being sensed. They have simultaneously measured pressure and temperature by using two separate arrays and laying one on top of another.

References

• Takao Someya Group at University of Tokyo