People rely on a highly tuned sense of touch to manipulate objects, but injuries to the skin and the simple act of wearing gloves can impair this ability. Surgeons, for example, find that gloves decrease their ability to manipulate soft tissues. Astronauts are also hampered by heavy spacesuits and find it difficult to work with equipment while wearing heavy gloves.

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Science News from research organizations
Highly sensitive sensors show promise in
enhancing human touch
Ultrathin crack-based sensors operate on a principle similar
to a spider's sense organ and display remarkable sensitivity
to movement
February 18, 2020
American Institute of Physics
People rely on a highly tuned sense of touch to manipulate
objects, but injuries to the skin and the simple act of wearing
gloves can impair this ability. Scientists report the
development of a new tactile-enhancement system based on
a highly sensitive sensor. The sensor has remarkable
sensitivity, allowing the wearer to detect the light brush of a
feather. This crack-based sensor was inspired by a spider's
slit organ.
a b e g d
FULL STORY
People rely on a highly tuned sense of touch to manipulate
objects, but injuries to the skin and the simple act of
wearing gloves can impair this ability. Surgeons, for
example, find that gloves decrease their ability to
manipulate soft tissues. Astronauts are also hampered by
heavy spacesuits and find it difficult to work with equipment
while wearing heavy gloves.
In this week's issue of Applied Physics Reviews, by AIP Publishing,
scientists report the development of a new tactile-enhancement system
based on a highly sensitive sensor. The sensor has remarkable sensitivity,
allowing the wearer to detect the light brush of a feather, the touch of a
flower petal, water droplets falling on a finger and even a wire too small to
be seen.
The crack-based sensor used in this device was inspired by a spider's slit
organ, an idea first proposed by other researchers. This pattern of cracks in
the exoskeleton allows the spider to detect small movements. In the same
way, the ultrathin crack-based strain sensor, or UCSS, uses cracks formed
in a thin layer of electrically conductive silver.
The UCSS is fabricated from several layers of flexible polymer film coated
with silver. The entire system is draped and stretched over a curved surface,
causing the silver to crack, and generating parallel channels that conduct
electricity and are sensitive to movement.
The investigators found thinner layers of both the flexible film and the silver
yielded sensors with higher sensitivity, while thicker ones exhibited a larger
sensing range. To achieve a balance of these two effects, UCSSs with 15-
micron thick polymer layers and 37-nanometer thick silver layers were the
best choice.
The investigators also designed a visually aided tactile enhancement
system, VATES, by connecting one or more UCSSs to a signal acquisition
unit and visual readout device. They attached UCSSs to gloves, either on
the fingertips or on the back of the hand, producing a type of electronic skin,
or e-skin. Tiny movements, as small as a person's pulse moving the tip of a
finger, could be monitored.
The investigators suggest UCSSs could be used in a variety of ways: as
highly sensitive electronic whiskers, which can be used to map wind flow
patterns; as wearable sensors for heartbeat and pulse detection; or as
sensors on prosthetics to enhance the sense of touch.
They also demonstrated their use when applied to various parts of the body.
UCSSs were able to detect movement due to smiling, frowning and eye
blinking.
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2. Cite This Page:
American Institute of Physics. "Highly sensitive sensors show promise in
enhancing human touch: Ultrathin crack-based sensors operate on a
principle similar to a spider's sense organ and display remarkable sensitivity
to movement." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 February 2020.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200218182158.htm>.
Co-author Caofeng Pan said, "These results demonstrate the wide
applications of our ultrathin strain sensor in e-skin and human-machine
interfaces."
Story Source:
Materials provided by American Institute of Physics. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
1. Jing Li, Rongrong Bao, Juan Tao, Ming Dong, Yufei Zhang, Sheng Fu,
Dengfeng Peng, Caofeng Pan. Visually aided tactile enhancement
system based on ultrathin highly sensitive crack-based strain
sensors. Applied Physics Reviews, 2020; 7 (1): 011404 DOI:
10.1063/1.5129468
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