(image: Pixabay)
DAEJEON, June 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said its research team has developed a robot skin that can sense various external tactile stimuli and recover from injury when it is cut or damaged.
By imitating the structure of human skin and the properties and composition of tactile receptors, the newly-developed robot skin can sense pressure and vibration in real time with a small number of measuring elements.
It can also classify the type of tactile stimuli such as pressing, tapping and patting by processing measured tactile signals through an artificial intelligence (AI)-based neural network.
Made of soft materials such as hydrogel and silicone, the robot skin can absorb shock and easily recover structure and function even when it is torn or cut deeply by a sharp object.
Since the robot skin can provide accurate tactile sensation for a wide area and realize material property and texture resembling human skin, the research team expects the robot skin to be used for restaurant serving robots and human-type robots that have contact and interaction with humans.
If the robot skin is used for a prosthetic hand or leg, it can offer the same look and tactile sensation as real skin.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
