Artificial skin "taught" to feel a touch

The engineers of Stanford University have developed artificial skin, capable of determining the pressure of pressure during touch and generate an electric impulse that transfers this feeling to the brain. The development description was published on October 16 in the journal Science .

Artificial leather is a two -layer plastic material. The upper layer is a sensory coating that can determine what pressure was exerted when touching, from a light touch of a finger to a solid handshake. The lower layer is responsible for the transmission of the electric signal and its converting into a biochemical stimulus, compatible with nerve cells. In the course of experiments, scientists managed to ensure that information about the effects on artificial skin activates the neurons of the brain of the mouse in vitro.

“This is the first time that a flexible material similar to the skin can determine the pressure and at the same time transmit a signal to the components of the nervous system,” said Zhener Bao, a professor of chemical engineering Stanford.

One of the co -authors of the work, Alex Chortos explained to The Verge that before the signal from the sensors “sensing” pressure had to go through a computer or microcontroller, which transformed it in such a way as to make the further transmission of the pulse into the brain. But with this transmission, the "noise" was added, which distorted the initial signal. The material developed by the team of Stanford University allows you to exclude an extra link in the process of transporting the pulse.

In the future, the development of the developed technology will lead to the creation of prostheses for a person who are able to transmit the maximum sensations to the owner, researchers expect. Among the tasks of engineers is to increase the level of tangibility of the material, make it possible that he “feels” the temperature, distinguishes a person’s touch from touching clothes and so on. In addition, scientists hope that the sensitivity of prostheses will relieve phantom pains, from which 80% of people with amputations suffer.