AssetID: 54846228
Headline: RAW VIDEO: Researchers Create Most Human-Like Robot Skin Yet
Caption: Robots are taking a leap toward human-like touch, thanks to a new innovation developed by scientists. Teams at the University of Cambridge and University College London (UCL) have created a low-cost, durable, and highly sensitive robotic skin that can be worn like a glove over robotic hands, enabling machines to detect and interpret touch in ways that closely resemble human sensation. The new skin is crafted from a soft, electrically conductive gelatine-based hydrogel that can be melted and re-shaped into complex forms - including a fully articulated human hand. What sets this development apart is not only the material’s flexibility and ease of fabrication but also the way it senses and processes touch. The entire skin functions as a single sensor, as opposed to relying on many individual sensors for different types of tactile feedback. “Having different sensors for different types of touch leads to materials that are complex to make,” explained lead author Dr David Hardman from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “We wanted to develop a solution that can detect multiple types of touch at once, but in a single material.” The team’s approach to tactile sensing is based on multi-modal sensing - a method where one type of sensor responds differently depending on the nature of the touch, whether it be heat, pressure, or mechanical damage. While this introduces challenges in signal interpretation, it results in a much simpler and more robust construction. “At the same time, we need something that’s cheap and durable, so that it’s suitable for widespread use,” added co-author Dr Thomas George Thuruthel from UCL. This robotic skin is not yet as sensitive as human skin, but it comes surprisingly close. It can detect signals from over 860,000 tiny conductive pathways within the material, allowing it to distinguish between various types of contact - including gentle finger taps, heat, cuts, and even multiple touchpoints - all with a single integrated material. During testing, the researchers subjected the artificial skin to an array of tactile stimuli: it was touched by fingers and robotic arms, exposed to heat guns, and even sliced open with a scalpel. These interactions generated more than 1.7 million data points using just 32 electrodes positioned at the wrist, thanks to the network of conductive paths throughout the hydrogel. The team employed machine learning techniques to train the robotic hand to interpret these signals, effectively teaching it how to differentiate between types of touch. “We’re able to squeeze a lot of information from these materials – they can take thousands of measurements very quickly,” said Hardman, who works in the lab of co-author Professor Fumiya Iida. “They’re measuring lots of different things at once, over a large surface area.” While not yet equal to human skin in complexity or sensitivity, the researchers are confident their material surpasses current alternatives. “We’re not quite at the level where the robotic skin is as good as human skin, but we think it’s better than anything else out there at the moment,” said Thuruthel. “Our method is flexible and easier to build than traditional sensors, and we’re able to calibrate it using human touch for a range of tasks.” Looking ahead, the team hopes to enhance the durability of the skin and test it in real-world robotic applications. Potential uses range from humanoid robotics and prosthetics to the automotive industry and disaster relief scenarios.
Keywords: feature,photo feature,photo story,robotic skin,tactile sensing,multi-modal sensors,human-like touch,artificial skin,robotics innovation,Cambridge University,UCL,machine learning,hydrogel sensors,prosthetics,humanoid robots,soft robotics,electronic skin,Science Robotics,tech,technology
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