‘Self-Healing’ electronic skin, like human skin, has the ability to heal itself after being cut

Researchers at Stanford University have developed artificial electronic skin that functions similarly to our own skin in that it can “recognize” itself and repair itself after an injury. The development of robot skin that resembles human tissue may benefit greatly from this discovery.

The multi-layer, thin polymer sensor that was successfully shown by the researchers can automatically realign itself when damaged, mimicking how the numerous layers of human skin rearrange themselves to start the healing process.

It’s amazing how sensitive the soft, flexible material is to changes in its surroundings, whether they be thermal, mechanical, electrical, or pressure-related. Each layer autonomously repairs itself after being sliced or punctured so the entire sample can continue to function.

 The unusual material, according to the researchers, can reassemble itself in just 24 hours when heated to 158°F, but the process takes a little longer when stored at ambient temperature, lasting approximately a week.

The group intends to mix various skills into various layers of material going forward. To make it even more similar to human skin, one layer might be set up to detect changes in temperature while the layer below might be alerted by changes in pressure.

It’s not the first time that scientists have given robots skin that resembles that of humans. In the past, Cornell University researchers created a soft robot with similar self-healing capabilities, and a team at the University of Maryland created an artificial skin that gave androids a feeling of touch.