Researchers have successfully built an ultrasensitive pressure sensor for electronic skin that is modeled after the nerve system in the human brain. This technology is relevant to future technologies, including AI-based digital healthcare equipment, and it is projected to be used in a variety of industries, including transparent displays and wearable gadgets, due to its transparency and physical flexibility.
Based on joint research with Professor Jaehyuk Lim of Jeonbuk National University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Youngu Lee of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST; President Kunwoo Lee) has successfully developed an ultra-sensitive pressure sensor for electronic skin modeled after the nervous system in the human brain.
This technology is relevant to future technologies, including AI-based digital healthcare equipment, and it is projected to be used in a variety of industries, including transparent displays and wearable gadgets, due to its transparency and physical flexibility.
Based on this study, we successfully developed a tactile sensor applicable to the next-generation electronic skin with transparency and flexibility. Hopefully, research on the basic mechanism of how the sensor works will continue, leading to the development of artificial tactile sensors that simulate the human skin and the technological development of transparent displays for commercialization.
Professor Lee
Pressure sensors detect small changes or forces and transform them into signals. They are used in cellphones and healthcare devices to detect touch, heart rate, and muscle movement. Pressure sensor-based electronic skin, which detects minor pressure like human skin, is utilized in a variety of applications such as wearables, medical monitoring, and robot sensory systems. To use electronic skin for more practical applications, it is necessary to go beyond simply detecting pressure and achieve increased sensitivity, transparency, and adaptability. In this regard, numerous studies are being carried out to increase performance.
The research team led by Professor Lee developed a pressure sensor that emulates the way the human brain transmits signals. The brain transmits signals in a complex and quick way as neurons and glial cells work together. Professor Lee’s team created a network of nanoparticles modeled after this structure and designed a pressure sensor sensitive to slight pressure.
The pressure sensor developed in this study is not only highly sensitive but also highly transparent and flexible. It can detect slight changes, such as in the heart rate and finger movements, as well as the pressure of water droplets. Furthermore, it works stably even after 10,000 repeated uses, and its performance does not decline even in hot or humid environments.
Professor Lee at the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, DGIST, said, “Based on this study, we successfully developed a tactile sensor applicable to the next-generation electronic skin with transparency and flexibility. Hopefully, research on the basic mechanism of how the sensor works will continue, leading to the development of artificial tactile sensors that simulate the human skin and the technological development of transparent displays for commercialization.”
