It’s fair to say that we take our skin for granted, but as Zhenan Bao, PhD, points out, it’s actually “a complex sensing, signaling and decision-making system.”
Bao, a Stanford chemical engineer, has been working for decades to develop an artificial skin that can mimic the organ’s ability to stretch, repair itself and function as a sensory network.
Her latest milestone, with other researchers from Stanford and Seoul National University, is the construction of an artificial nerve circuit that imitates human reflexes and ability to sense touch. A Stanford Engineering news release about the new Science paper explains the three components of the artificial network:
The first is a touch sensor that can detect even minuscule forces. This sensor sends signals through the second component — a flexible electronic neuron. The touch sensor and electronic neuron are improved versions of inventions previously reported by the Bao lab.
Sensory signals from these…
For the rest of the article, please visit https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2018/05/31/artificial-skin-technology-mimics-touch-sensations-and-reflexes/.
Last modified: June 8, 2018
