The skin is one of the main organs of the human body and it implements many different and relevant functions. Due to its complexity, the development of artificial, or better, electronic skin (e-skin) is a challenging goal that involves many different and complementary research areas.
Electronic skin refers to flexible, stretchable and self-healing electronics that are able to mimic functionalities of human or animal skin. Advances in electronic skin research focus on designing materials that are stretchy, robust, and flexible.
The successful combination of flexible and stretchable mechanical properties with sensors and the ability to self-heal would open door to many possible applications including soft robotics, prosthetics, artificial intelligence, and health monitoring. Self-healing, or re-healable, the electronic skin is often achieved through a polymer-based material or a hybrid material.
- Polymer-Based Material
- Hybrid Material
Researchers have developed a new type of malleable, self-healing and fully recyclable “electronic skin” that has applications ranging from robotics and prosthetic development to better biomedical devices. Electronic skin, known as e-skin, is a thin, translucent material that can mimic the function and mechanical properties of human skin. A number of different types and sizes of wearable e-skins are now being developed in labs around the world as researchers recognize their value in diverse medical, scientific, and engineering fields. E-skin has sensors embedded to measure pressure, temperature, humidity, and airflow.
Advantages of using E-skin
- It helps the body to adjust after the transplant.
- It can make robots more sensitive.
- The use of tiny electronic wires allows the skin to generate impulses, similar to that of the body’s own nervous system.
- It could lead to advancements in medical equipment.
Disadvantages of using E-skin
- As it is not readily available, it is extremely expensive.
- The maintenance of e-skin could be even more costly.
- Defects in robots e-skin can lead to accidents.
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