Tech & Science Scientists build a self-healing, stretchable electronic skin

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The jellyfish -- a transparent, gelatinous blob that fills the world's oceans -- doesn't inherently seem like much of an inspirational creature.

But don't tell the scientists at the National University of Singapore that. They've been inspired by the humble, transparent invertebrates to build their latest creation: a self-healing, stretchable, touch-sensitive electronic skin that could be used to develop soft robots and various human-machine communication interfaces.

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Advances in stretchable electronic materials and devices have allowed scientists to mimic self - healing properties of human skin and The blend film retained a high stretchability , Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus similar to human skin and better than typical semiconducting polymers.

Scientists build a self - healing , stretchable electronic skin . Taking inspiration from jellyfish, researchers have developed a touch-sensitive skin that could be used to help humans interact with machines. a transparent, gelatinous blob that fills the world's oceans -- doesn't inherently seem like

"We wondered how we could make an artificial material that could mimic the water-resistant nature of jellyfishes and yet also be touch sensitive," said Benjamin Tee, lead researcher on the study, in a press release.

The details of Tee's new creation were published in Nature Electronics on February 15. The "gel-like, aquatic, stretchable, self-healing electronic skin" is being dubbed GLASSES, for short.

By mixing an elastic plastic with a fluorine-rich ionic liquid into a gel, Tee and his research team created a transparent skin that is able to "self-heal" and operate in wet environments, something that previous gels -- such as hydrogels used in tissue engineering -- were not able to do.

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Self - healing ' electronic skin ' that can track your step count and monitor your heart rate could offer Researchers from the US created the stretchy, recyclable electronic device It is built as a network of liquid wires encased in thin layers of a special polymer

The e- skin is able to heal itself. Image Credit: Jianliang Xiao / University of Colorado Boulder. Consisting of a thin translucent strip, the 'e- skin ' attempts to mimic many of the properties and functionalities of actual human skin for use in a broad range of applications.

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"What makes our material different is that it can retain its shape in both wet and dry surroundings. It works well in sea water and even in acidic or alkaline environments," Tee said.

If the skin is cut or torn, the team demonstrated that it could actively regain electrical conductivity within minutes -- and stitch itself back together within days. Bet that would make the jellyfish jealous.

And the material is also conductive, which means that it can respond to touching, stretching and straining. These forces change the electrical properties of the skin and by measuring those changes, the skin could become a viable way to create various sensors that would respond to touch.

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Could e- skin eventually cover prosthetic devices such as artificial limbs, robots, and electronic equipment to make them more lifelike and give them added functionality? If you are planning on building a Terminator that looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you may need some skin in the game.

Electronic skin reacts to pain like a human. Cornell University's laser-activated robot is smaller than a Essentially, it's a solid-liquid hybrid that is stretchable , electrically insulating and capable of auto-repair Where most other self - healing soft electronics need exposure to heat, increased humidity or

The researchers suggest this could facilitate new methods of interaction with soft robots, an emerging field of robotics concerned with constructing robots from more malleable and pliant materials than solid metal -- likethose used in Boston Dynamics' twerking robo-dog Spot. The researchers showed off GLASSES touch-sensitivity with a simple game of classic mobile game Snake.

And a self-healing skin may have positive effects on the environment, too, erasing the necessity for replacement. If we aren't recycling our electronic goods, we are throwing them out -- with more than 40 million tons of e-waste produced each year. Tee sees an opportunity there.

"We are hoping to create a future where electronic devices made from intelligent materials can perform self-repair functions to reduce the amount of electronic waste in the world," he said.

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Originally published 8:24 p.m. PT

Update 9:16 p.m. PT: Corrected name of National University of Singapore