Researchers from the University of Stanford have developed intelligent skin – A new type of expandable biocompatible material which is sprayed at the back of the hand, like a tanning spray. Integrated into the mesh is a tiny electrical network that smells as the skin stretches and folds.
Using artificial intelligence, this new skin can help researchers understand many daily tasks of hand movements and gestures. Scientists believe that it could have applications and implications in the fields, such as: game, sports, telemedicine and robotics.
Innovation here is a network of sprayed electrical awareness mesh integrated into polyurethane, which is a durable but extensible material. The mesh consists of millions of nanofils which are in contact with each other to form dynamic electrical routes. This mesh is electrically active, biocompatible, breathable and remains on unless soap and water rub in soap and water. It can be intimately conforming to the wrinkles and folds of each human finger.
“While the fingers are looking and turning, the nanofils in the mesh tighten and extend, changing the electrical conductivity of the mesh. These changes can be measured and analyzed to tell us precisely how a hand or a finger or a joint moves”, – explained Zhenan Bao, a teacher KK Lee of chemical genius and the study of the study.
The researchers decided to approach spraying directly on the skin so that the mesh is maintained without substrate. This key engineering solution has eliminated the inaccuracy of unwanted movements and allowed them to use a single trace of driver's mesh to generate multi-platform information on the fingers.
With automatic learning, computers can monitor changes in conductivity models and map the changing models in physical tasks and specific gestures. For example, enter an X on a keyboard, and the algorithm learns to recognize this task from variable models of electrical conductivity. Once the algorithm is formed properly, the physical keyboard is no longer necessary. The same principles can be used to recognize sign language or even to recognize objects by tracing their external surfaces.
