Robots With A Sense of Touch? Weird!

Getting “touchy-feely” with a robot? Ah-no! I don’t think so!

Electronic Skin Gives Robots a Sense of Touch!

“Thanks to classic movies, many people view robots as clunky, lumbering galoots, knocking over lab racks and breaking through walls. While this image contrasts entirely with today’s violin playing robots, still robots aren’t typically known for their delicate sense of touch.

However, some researchers from the Technical University Munich (TUM) might be changing that stereotype. In their attempt to create a more sensitive robot, the team has produced small hexagonal plates that, when joined together, form a responsive robot skin.

The artificial skin is composed of small, rigid hexagonal circuit boards. Each circuit board has four infrared sensors that detect anything that comes closer than a centimeter, effectively stimulating light touch. Therefore, the robot can detect when it runs into things and either retreat from the object or direct its eyes to better examine the object.

As well, TUM researchers have embedded the plates with six temperatures sensors and an accelerometer. Researchers say these add self-perception to the robot by allowing it to register individual limb movement.”