Flexible Robot Skin

Tokyo University researchers have developed an artificial skin for robots that gives them a sense of touch.

Essentially an array of pressure sensors embedded into flexible, inexpensive materials, the prototype skin has about 16 sensors per square centimeter - not bad, until you realize that the human fingertip (admittedly one of the highest density areas we have) has around 1,500 per square centimeter.

Still, it's a start.

The work was reported in the July 6, 2004 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences under the title, "A large-area, flexible pressure sensor matrix with organic-field effect transistors for artificial skin applications."

[via Gizmodo and Piquepaille]