E-Skin Viewpoint V5
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Dahiya, R. (2019) E-skin: from humanoids to humans. Proceedings of the IEEE, 107(2), pp. 247-252. (doi:10.1109/JPROC.2018.2890729). This is the author’s final accepted version. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it. http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/183481/ Deposited on: 05 April 2019 Enlighten – Research publications by members of the University of Glasgow http://eprints.gla.ac.uk > REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR PAPER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (DOUBLE-CLICK HERE TO EDIT) < 1 E-Skin: From Humanoids to Humans BY RAVINDER DAHIYA BEST Group, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, UK I. WHAT IS E- SKIN With roBots starting to enter our lives feedBack as well as decoding user’s tears) or the physiological parameters in a numBer of ways (e.g. social, intentions in real time), (e) high- (e.g. pulse rate, blood pressure etc.) in assistive, and surgery, etc.) the electronic performance (e.g. fast response) low- real-time [7, 8] For health and medical skin (e-skin) is increasingly Becoming power electronics, and (f) sufficient applications there are additional important. The capability of detecting energy for operation of touch sensors and requirements such as suBstrates should suBtle pressure or temperature changes, associated electronics, particularly for be disposable, dissolvable, bioresorbable makes the e-skin an essential component autonomous robots. With these features, and biocompatible etc. [9, 10]. Such e- of a roBot’s body or an artificial limB [1, the e-skin has been sought to resemBle skin patches could either be placed 2]. This is because the tactile feedBack the human skin. directly on body surface or on daily enabled by e-skin plays a fundamental With this Background, the e-skin can wearaBles such as clothes, watch or role in providing action-related be defined as a multisensory patch or jewellery etc. In fact, in the latter case, information such as slip during system (Fig. 1), having a set of sensors much wider variety of sensors can be manipulation/control tasks such as (e.g. touch, temperature, gas, display, integrated on e-skin patch. The face grasping, and estimation of contact energy scavengers, and electrochemical masks with gas sensor, for example. parameters (e.g. force, soft contact, sensors etc.) and the associated Fig. 2 shows some of the scenarios and hardness, texture, temperature etc. electronics either integrated on flexible/ use cases for e-skin in roBotics, during exploration [3]). It is critical for bendable/stretchaBle suBstrates or prosthetics, wearaBles and health the safe roBotic interaction – be it as a co- embedded into soft substrates [6]. The monitoring [11-13]. The e-skin, as worker in the futuristic industry 4.0 parameters to be measured, and hence the described above, could enable advances setting or to assist the elderly at home. types of sensors, depend on the target in areas such as electronics In context with roBotics and application. For example, in the case of manufacturing, moBile health and prosthetics, the e-skin is also referred to roBots and prosthesis, human-like tactile roBotics etc. and will open interesting as tactile skin. To Be an effective feelings can be attained by measuring avenues for applications ranging from component of a robot’s body, the e-skin sensing parameters such as contact force, wearaBle systems for individual-centric should have a complex mix of functional temperature, pain and slip, etc. With health monitoring or self-health and morphological features such as: (a) these sensors the e-skin can advance the management, to instrumented smart multiple types of sensors distributed over capabilities of robots by allowing them to objects for internet of things and surgical large areas (entire Body) to measure exploit area contacts and complement or tools etc. New applications could also multiple touch sensing parameters (e.g. replace internal sensors (e.g. emerge because of the new form of human skin has about 45K simultaneous use of tactile and electronics needed for the development touch/pressure sensitive receptors in ~1.5 proprioceptive sensing). A rudimentary of e-skin. m2 area) [4, 5]; (b) appropriate placement illustration of e-skin can be seen in touch of sensors to obtain varying degree of screens in wide use today. Touch screens sensitivities over the entire body; (c) detect contact location in the sensors (and associated electronics) manner of a simple switch, i.e., integrated on or emBedded into soft and ‘contact’ or ‘no contact.’ stretchaBle substrates to allow When applied to healthcare conformability to 3D surfaces (for applications such as real time superior oBject handing, improved user monitoring of chronic diseases, comfort and reliable data acquisition); the e-skin (also referred to as (d) capability to handle large data “second-skin”) should have generated By the sensors through local sensors to measure the processing or neural computing and variations in the composition of extracting useful information (e.g. analytes or biomarkers present Figure 1: The e-skin concept with multiple functionalities collecting the data for critical tactile in the body fluids (e.g. sweat or integrated over ultra-thin flexible suBstrates. > REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR PAPER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (DOUBLE-CLICK HERE TO EDIT) < 2 materials, and manufacturing methods are currently the areas of intensive investigation. This is also evident from the recent surge in the numBer of publications (Figure 3) related to e-skin and flexible electronics. The major technological approaches that are Being explored for the development of e-skin are briefly described below. A. E-Skin with Off-the-Shelf Components To meet the immediate need of tactile feedBack in various roBotic tasks, various e-skin alternatives have been explored, with off-the-shelf sensing/electronic components soldered on to flexible printed circuit boards (FPCB) [11] or Figure 2: The need to cover 3D surface of robot’s body (a-B) and prosthetic limBs (c) with large number of stitched to the flexible surfaces [14]. In touch sensor has been key driver application for flexiBle and conformaBle e-skin. The e-skin is now Being these cases, the e-skin is made of used to develop wearaBle patches (or ‘second skin’) with sensors for health monitoring (d). mechanically integrated But otherwise magnetic etc.) [3, 5, 11]. A large numBer distinct and stiff sub-circuit islands of II. TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION of experimental devices and prototypes off-the-shelf components connected with Technological advances have reported in the literature show a good wires or stretchaBle metal interconnects. motivated numerous multidisciplinary diversity among the types of sensors that This approach has Been explored By investigations leading to the were developed in the 1980s. Particular various research groups. These semi- development of artificial organs such as attention was given to the development rigid FPCB based skin patches conform electronic nose, ear and bionic eyes. of tactile sensing arrays for the object to surfaces with large curvature such as Development of these artificial organs recognition. The creation of multi finger arms of a humanoid robots (Fig 2) and was challenging, but they also have the roBotic hands, in late 1980s, increased have served some of the urgent needs the interest in tactile sensing for roBotic advantage in terms of their centralized such as tactile feedBack from whole Body manipulation and the works utilizing locations (i.e. unlike skin they are not or large parts of the body. In fact, such tactile sensing in real-time control of distributed over the whole body). large area implementations of e-skin manipulation started to appear [14]. Further, the number of sensory have changed the roBotics research parameters they are required to acquire Likewise, the multi finger prosthetics hands, in 1990s, increased the interest in paradigm - from hand-based are much lower than the skin. As a result, manipulation to exploiting multiple it was possible to use a single tactile feedBack, although the major focus was on methods such as EMG contact points or areas contact to plan technological solution to develop these and execute robotic tasks/movements. artificial organs. For example, CMOS based control, and this continues till date. Further improvements in the FPCB or (Complementary Metal Oxide These early solutions for tactile sensing stitching based e-skin can be made by Semiconductor) imagers for high- are nowhere close to the complexity of e- including more functional components performance cameras and bionic eye. To skin system defined earlier. The a greater extent better understanding of anticipated use of robotics in tasks such such as local memory. However, any the centralized sensory modalities such as human-roBot working side By side in new addition of non-bendable off-the- as vision in humans also contributed to the emerging Industry 4.0 setting, shelf components would severely the successful development of artificial exploiting whole Body contacts for tasks constrain the e-skin in terms of organs such as electronic nose, ear and in an unstructured environment, and bendability or conformability. bionic eyes. On the contrary, the details assistive/rehabilitation tasks etc., has about the working of human sense of brought to the fore the importance of touch are still emerging and Being large area tactile skin i.e. over the whole debated [5]. Nonetheless, the advances in body of roBotic/prosthetic limBs [2]. electronics technology are helping to Likewise, using e-skin as ‘second skin’ bridge the gap. in human health monitoring is opening From historical perspective, tactile new opportunities (Figure 2). These new sensing Began to develop in the 1970s scenarios demand e-skin to have several and the early works focused on the functional elements in addition to the developing sensors by exploring various challenging requirement of being transduction mechanisms (e.g.