A new plastic skin can detect pressure and send an electric signal to deliver sensory input to brain cells.
The first part of the synthetic skin is made of a layer of plastic embedded with silver nanowires. These form a networked lattice of interconnected conductivity, allowing the material to stretch and bend without losing its ability to transmit a signal.
This is created using a specialized printer, working on a similar principal to inkjet printers, developed by PARC, a Xerox company. The printer uses a specialized plastic ink developed by the lab to print the skin and deposit the flexible circuits into the plastic.
The second part of the pressure-sensitive synthetic skin is a layer of waffled plastic, scattered with billions of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). When pressed together, the CNTs can conduct short pulses of electricity that are monitored and used to transmit the signal through the transmitting layer below, noting the amount of pressure.
The information can then (theoretically) be sent to the brain, allowing it to register the input as the sensation of touch. The Stanford research team which developed the skin was able to use this input to stimulate a line of neurons with electrical impulses, simulating the human nervous system. Despite this experiment, direct application to a human brain is still a ways off.
While lead researcher Zhenan Bao, can already see applications for this technology, she has no intention of commercializing early, despite her hope to see this long-term project finally come to fruition.
“We have a lot of work to do to take this from experimental to practical applications,” Bao said. “But after spending many years in this work, I now see a clear path where we can take our artificial skin.”
With hope of using the skin to give a sense of touch to users of prosthetic limbs, among other applications in medical research and wearable devices, Bao and her team of researchers are at the forefront of what could be a revolution in limb replacement.
Find out more by visiting the Bao Research Group website.