A group of American and canadian engineers, chemists and biologists from Western Connecticut state University and the University of Toronto have developed a new kind of sensor that gives an artificial skin can feel pressure, vibration and even magnetic fields. This technology will help to recover victims of burns and other damage to the dermis. About the invention details are reported in the journal Advanced Materials.
The new sensor consists of a flexible hollow silicone tube wrapped with copper wire and filled with particles of iron oxide. As iron nanoparticles are moving inside the tube, they create an electrical charge that is transferred to copper wire. When the tube is under pressure, changes the current.
“The type of artificial leather that we developed, can be called an electronic skin. This is a new kind of electronics with flexibility and stretch properties and unique sensory capabilities that mimic human skin,” — said Islam mos, a postdoctoral fellow Western Connecticut state University.
In addition to the ability like human skin to perceive changes in the environment of electronic skin can feel even fluctuations in the magnetic field and the vibrations of sound waves. According to co-sponsor the work of Abdelsalam Ahmed from the University of Toronto, the researchers set themselves the task to develop artificial skin whose sensory skills are beyond human.
“The biggest motivation for us when developing this sensor for electronic skin has been the dream of expanding the possibilities of this technology up to superhuman abilities. We showed that the electronic skin can serve as an effective sensor of danger,” says Ahmed.
The developers believe that their invention will find interest among manufacturers of electronic security systems, a developer of robots for rescue operations, as well as the new generation of devices for remote monitoring of health status. In the future, the creators of the sensor plan to develop more flat prototype, able to more naturally integrate in artificial skin and not stand out against it. In addition, the researchers plan to make the electronic skin is completely biocompatible.
The authors of the project say that the cost of production of one such sensor at the moment is less than $ 5. Scientists have patented their development and plan to enter it in the next couple of years.
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