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The team behind the high-tech electronic “e-skin” said it has the strength, elasticity and sensitivity of human skin, but could be used to collect important biological data in real time to monitor a person’s health.
Researcher Yichen Cai said, “The ideal e-skin will mimic the many natural functions of human skin, such as sensing temperature and touch, accurately and in real time.
“However, making adequately flexible electronic components that can perform such delicate tasks and at the same time withstand the bumps and scratches of everyday life is challenging and every material involved must be carefully designed.”
Most e-skins are made by layering an active nanomaterial on an elastic surface that sticks to human skin, but the results have been patchy so far.
The connection between these layers is often too weak, which reduces the durability and sensitivity of the material, or too strong, causing limited flexibility and making the circuit break and open more likely.
Prof Cai said: “The skin electronics landscape continues to change at a spectacular rate.
“The emergence of 2D sensors has accelerated efforts to integrate these atomically thin and mechanically strong materials into functional and durable artificial leathers.”
The team led by Prof Cai and colleague Jie Shen at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia believed they have now created a durable electronic skin using a hydrogel reinforced with silica nanoparticles and a 2D titanium carbide layer. sensing, bonded together with conductive nanowires.
READ MORE: Touch sensitive bionic skin made for robots
Professor Shen said: “Hydrogels are made up of more than 70% water, which makes them very compatible with human skin tissues.”
By pre-stretching the hydrogel in all directions, applying a layer of nanowires, and then carefully controlling its release, the researchers created conductive paths to the sensor layer that remained intact even when the material was stretched up to 28 times the length. its original size.
Their prototype e-skin could detect objects eight inches away, respond to stimuli in less than a tenth of a second, and, when used as a pressure sensor, could distinguish the handwriting written on it.
Such e-skins could monitor a range of biological information, such as changes in blood pressure, which can be detected from vibrations in the arteries to movements of large limbs and joints. This data can then be shared and stored on the cloud via wifi.
Prof Cai said: “We envision a future for this technology beyond biology.
“One day, the stretchable sensor tape could monitor the structural health of inanimate objects, such as furniture and airplanes.”
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