Electronic skin

Electronic skin refers to flexible, stretchable and self-healing electronics that are able to mimic functionalities of human or animal skin.[1][2] The broad class of materials often contain sensing abilities that are intended to reproduce the capabilities of human skin to respond to environmental factors such as changes in heat and pressure.[1][2][3][4]

Advances in electronic skin research focuses on designing materials that are stretchy, robust, and flexible. Research in the individual fields of flexible electronics and tactile sensing has progressed greatly; however, electronic skin design attempts to bring together advances in many areas of materials research without sacrificing individual benefits from each field.[5] The successful combination of flexible and stretchable mechanical properties with sensors and the ability to self-heal would open the door to many possible applications including soft robotics, prosthetics, artificial intelligence and health monitoring.[1][5][6][7]

Recent advances in the field of electronic skin have focused on incorporating green materials ideals and environmental awareness into the design process. As one of the main challenges facing electronic skin development is the ability of the material to withstand mechanical strain and maintain sensing ability or electronic properties, recyclability and self-healing properties are especially critical in the future design of new electronic skins.[8]

  1. ^ a b c Benight, Stephanie J.; Wang, Chao; Tok, Jeffrey B.H.; Bao, Zhenan (2013). "Stretchable and self-healing polymers and devices for electronic skin". Progress in Polymer Science. 38 (12): 1961–1977. doi:10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2013.08.001.
  2. ^ a b dos Santos, Andreia; Fortunato, Elvira; Martins, Rodrigo; Águas, Hugo; Igreja, Rui (January 2020). "Transduction Mechanisms, Micro-Structuring Techniques, and Applications of Electronic Skin Pressure Sensors: A Review of Recent Advances". Sensors. 20 (16): 4407. Bibcode:2020Senso..20.4407D. doi:10.3390/s20164407. PMC 7472322. PMID 32784603.
  3. ^ Chou, Ho-Hsiu; Nguyen, Amanda; Chortos, Alex; To, John W. F.; Lu, Chien; Mei, Jianguo; Kurosawa, Tadanori; Bae, Won-Gyu; Tok, Jeffrey B.-H. (2015-08-24). "A chameleon-inspired stretchable electronic skin with interactive colour changing controlled by tactile sensing". Nature Communications. 6: 8011. Bibcode:2015NatCo...6.8011C. doi:10.1038/ncomms9011. PMC 4560774. PMID 26300307.
  4. ^ Hou, Chengyi; Huang, Tao; Wang, Hongzhi; Yu, Hao; Zhang, Qinghong; Li, Yaogang (2013-11-05). "A strong and stretchable self-healing film with self-activated pressure sensitivity for potential artificial skin applications". Scientific Reports. 3 (1): 3138. Bibcode:2013NatSR...3E3138H. doi:10.1038/srep03138. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 3817431. PMID 24190511.
  5. ^ a b Hammock, Mallory L.; Chortos, Alex; Tee, Benjamin C.-K.; Tok, Jeffrey B.-H.; Bao, Zhenan (2013-11-01). "25th Anniversary Article: The Evolution of Electronic Skin (E-Skin): A Brief History, Design Considerations, and Recent Progress". Advanced Materials. 25 (42): 5997–6038. Bibcode:2013AdM....25.5997H. doi:10.1002/adma.201302240. ISSN 1521-4095. PMID 24151185. S2CID 205250986.
  6. ^ Bauer, Siegfried; Bauer-Gogonea, Simona; Graz, Ingrid; Kaltenbrunner, Martin; Keplinger, Christoph; Schwödiauer, Reinhard (2014-01-01). "25th Anniversary Article: A Soft Future: From Robots and Sensor Skin to Energy Harvesters". Advanced Materials. 26 (1): 149–162. Bibcode:2014AdM....26..149B. doi:10.1002/adma.201303349. ISSN 1521-4095. PMC 4240516. PMID 24307641.
  7. ^ Tee, Benjamin C-K.; Wang, Chao; Allen, Ranulfo; Bao, Zhenan (December 2012). "An electrically and mechanically self-healing composite with pressure- and flexion-sensitive properties for electronic skin applications". Nature Nanotechnology. 7 (12): 825–832. Bibcode:2012NatNa...7..825T. doi:10.1038/nnano.2012.192. ISSN 1748-3395. PMID 23142944.
  8. ^ Zou, Zhanan; Zhu, Chengpu; Li, Yan; Lei, Xingfeng; Zhang, Wei; Xiao, Jianliang (2018-02-01). "Rehealable, fully recyclable, and malleable electronic skin enabled by dynamic covalent thermoset nanocomposite". Science Advances. 4 (2): eaaq0508. Bibcode:2018SciA....4..508Z. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaq0508. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 5817920. PMID 29487912.