Towards an electronic skin sensitive to touching objects in the metaverse?

employment roboticOf all the senses, reproduction by touch remains the most difficult. Enter fragile items, such as raisins, without crushing them remains a feat to be achieved by a robotic hand. To successfully replicate this meaning, Facebook AI/Meta has embarked on a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University in the United States.

Here the researchers developed a prototype of the tactile electronic skin, called ReSkin. skin that can be applied to robotic hands, prosthetics Or even “connecting” gloves. With the ambition of metaverse dead, it would prefer to be next to Applications from Virtual Reality this is Material can be used. It will allow, for example, a person to feel what another person is touching.

ReSkin consists of a flexible, flexible rubber membrane with a thickness of 2 to 3 mm. The skin also contains fine magnetic particles. When this membrane is deformed influential On the surface, the spacing between the fine particles changes. The magnetic field Skin changes are referred to as these small differences magnetometer.

Durable, simple and inexpensive

The rest is done in a program with algorithms that make it possible to determine the pressure To exercise, as well as accurate localization of contact on the membrane. During the various tests conducted by the scientists, ReSkin was able to show 90% accuracy in its interaction with surfaces. she has sensitive The connection is accurate because it is for 1 mm.

During the tests, the leather It was used to reproduce and measure stress levels for various manipulations, such as throwing or catching something, sliding on a surface, or even clapping. At the end of the tests, the researchers were able to note that as a bonus, the material proved durable enough to still function after more than 50,000 interactions. Another plus: Since the ReSkin has no electronic component, it is inexpensive and easy to replace. The skin can be simply changed if damaged, without the need for any modifications or calibers individually.