University of Tokyo researchers have developed an artificial skin for robots that gives them a sense of touch. Essentially an array of pressure sensors embedded into inexpensive, flexible materials, the prototype skin has about 16 sensors per centimeter - pretty good, until you realize that human's have around 1,500 per centimeter in our fingertips (although that's one of the highest densities we have).

Besides robot skin, the material might be used in car seats and gymnasium carpets to detect... pressure, I guess. I'm sure they have a good reason. For robots, though, having an array of pressure sensors could help it in simple everyday task that need a finer degree of sensitivity than can be provided just by measuring resistance at its joints, like picking up fragile objects, or knowing exactly how tightly to squeeze a human trachea in threat without completely crushing it.

Read - Flexible Sensors Make Robot Skin [Piquepaille]

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Robot Archives [Gizmodo]

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