Communications of the ACM
Biologically Inspired Artificial Skin Improves Sensory Ability of Robots
Technical University of Munich researchers designed a system integrating artificial skin with control algorithms, which they used to create the first autonomous humanoid robot with full-body synthetic skin.
Credit: Astrid Eckert/Technical University of Munich
Researchers at the Technical University of Munich in Germany have designed a system integrating artificial skin with control algorithms, which they used to create the first autonomous humanoid robot with full-body synthetic skin.
The skin is composed of hexagonal cells about an inch in diameter, each with a microprocessor and sensors to measure pressure, acceleration, proximity, and temperature.
The researchers use an event-based system to track the cells instead of continuous monitoring, with individual cells only sending data when values change; this cuts the processing load by up to 90%.
Said the university’s Gordon Cheng, “Our system is designed to work trouble-free and quickly with all kinds of robots. Now we're working to create smaller skin cells with the potential to be produced in larger numbers.”
From Technical University of Munich (Germany)
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Abstracts Copyright © 2019 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA
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