Also: e-skin, artificial skin sensors, robot skin
Electronic skin is a flexible sensor sheet that senses touch, pressure or heat, for robots and prosthetics.
Readiness: lab lab studies · prototype demonstrated objects · commercial products or buildings in real use · review summaries of other studies.
Someya and colleagues built a large flexible pressure-sensing sheet from organic transistors as artificial skin.
Built / tested: robot e-skin
As reported in: Someya, Sekitani, Iba et al. (2004). A large-area, flexible pressure sensor matrix with organic field-effect transistors for artificial skin applications. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0401918101
Mannsfeld and colleagues made flexible sensors with microstructured rubber that detect very light touch.
As reported in: Mannsfeld, Tee, Stoltenberg et al. (2010). Highly sensitive flexible pressure sensors with microstructured rubber dielectric layers. Nature Materials. doi:10.1038/nmat2834
Abstract only
Hammock and colleagues reviewed the history and design of electronic skin.
As reported in: Hammock, Chortos, Tee et al. (2013). 25th Anniversary Article: The Evolution of Electronic Skin (E‐Skin): A Brief History, Design Considerations, and Recent Progress. Advanced Materials. doi:10.1002/adma.201302240
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Tee and colleagues made a skin-like sensor that sends pressure signals as nerve-like pulses.
As reported in: Tee, Chortos, Berndt et al. (2015). A skin-inspired organic digital mechanoreceptor. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aaa9306