Professor Ravinder Dahiya, an expert in electronic skin at Northeastern University’s College of Engineering in Boston, is leading a project funded by a $230,000 National Science Foundation grant. The project aims to develop flexible and compressible electronic skin (e-Skin) integrated with soft magnetic coil-based ultra-thin actuators and touch sensors for robotics applications. The goal is to provide robots with human-like tactile abilities, enabling them to interact safely with objects and assist the elderly in daily tasks. Dahiya’s work addresses the limitations of existing e-Skin variants by creating a seamless coupling between touch sensors and actuators, allowing the skin to expand and contract like natural skin.
Dahiya, an alumnus of IIT Delhi, emphasizes the importance of replicating natural skin characteristics for smooth robot operations. The touch sensory feedback from this advanced e-Skin could have applications in healthcare, aiding clinicians in remote procedures and providing prosthetics for amputees with a semblance of touch. His previous work at the University of Glasgow involved developing electronic skin that displayed a sense of touch, benefiting both robotics and prosthetics.
The new project focuses on integrating sensors and actuators into a single device, addressing the need for a holistic approach to mimic natural skin functionalities. Dahiya’s team of about 20, comprising graduate and postdoctoral students, aims to develop the concept device over a two-year period. The soft and compressible e-Skin with integrated sensors and actuators could revolutionize various fields, from warehouse robotics to rehabilitation settings, enhancing robots’ ability to handle diverse items and aiding those learning to regain function in their extremities.
Dahiya underscores the significance of “haptic interaction,” where information flows from the point of contact to the brain and back. The expanded capabilities of the e-Skin could offer extra flexibility for amputees to handle objects precisely. Dahiya anticipates reporting exciting outcomes from the project sometime next year, building on the success of his previous breakthroughs in electronic skin technology.
