Skin sensor could give robots human sensation

The team, led by Rob Shepherd, associate professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, published their paper in Science and are now hoping to commercialise the technology for physical therapy and sports medicine. The paper's co-authors Hedan Bai and Shuo Li are currently working with Cornell’s Centre for Technology Licensing to patent the technology. 

The fibre-optic sensor is said to combine low-cost LEDs and dyes, resulting in a stretchable sensor that could detect deformations such as pressure, bending and strain.

“Right now, sensing is done mostly by vision,” explained Shepherd. “We hardly ever measure touch in real life. This skin is a way to allow ourselves and machines to measure tactile interactions in a way that we now currently use the cameras in our phones. It’s using vision to touch. This is the most convenient and practical way to do it in a scaleable way.”