Researchers from Donghua University in China and the Jülich Center for Neutron Science (JCNS) in Germany recently
In recent years, robotics from around the worldare trying to create artificial systems that resemble parts of the human body and reproduce their functions. These include artificial skin - a protective layer that will also improve the sensory capabilities of robots.
“As we know, skin is the biggestan organ of the human body that acts as a protective layer and sensory interface to keep our body healthy and responsive,” Shentong Sun, one of the study’s authors, told TechXplore. “With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and soft robotics, engineers are trying to cover humanoid robots with artificial skin that reproduces all the mechanical and sensory properties of a human, so that they perceive the constantly changing external environment, just like us.”
Because human skin isvery complex system, it is extremely difficult to imitate all its functions. For example, human skin can sense various environmental changes, including pressure, surface deformation, and temperature fluctuations, simply by picking up ion-based electronic signals.
Self-healing hybrid ionic skin with a nanofiber structure based on the biotechnology of real human skin. Image: Wang et al.
Inspired by the natural structure of the skinman, engineers have created an artificial one based on a self-healing nanotag and an ionic matrix. They reproduce the functions of collagen and elastin (connective tissue protein), respectively. The result is a material that is soft but becomes hard when stretched. This property is known as strain stiffness. In addition, the new artificial skin self-heals after damage, is resistant to fatigue, and responds quickly to shape deformations, which is especially important for sensory applications.
Inspired by reparable nanofiberskin structure, engineers created an artificial ionic skin by incorporating a self-healing elastic nanomesh scaffold into another self-healing soft ionic matrix. The nanotag was obtained by electrospinning a synthetic polyurethane, which is self-healing due to the exchange of disulfide bonds at room temperature. The ionic matrix was prepared by evaporating an aqueous solution of polyacrylamide-acrylic acid, hyaluronic acid and CaCl₂ (calcium chloride).
Experiments have shown that even 10,000 cycles of stretching did not damage the skin. The calculated fatigue threshold of hybrid ionic skin is almost twice that of human muscles.
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Cover photo: Kai Jacobson/UBC Faculty of Applied Science, from another ionic skin study