The horizon opens for a new era of arctic exploration with a twisted future, where we will have scout robots with a particular skin capable of healing itself. Since a team of researchers from the Tianjin University in China has just developed an electronic skin (e-skin) capable of operating in temperatures as low as -78 degrees Celsius.
This new material represents a breakthrough for polar exploration, as it could equip a new generation of automata with functions that enable the ability to perceive their environment and perform tasks with greater precision in extreme weather conditions.
The e-skin, in question would be highly elastic, self-healing and sensitive to touch. In fact, it is designed to cover robotic hands, providing them with tactile feedback that is frankly crucial in hostile polar environments.
It would seem like material for a work of science fiction but it is the present that has already reached us, here and now.
The electronic skin that can revolutionize everything: this is how the e-skin works
This innovative technology, recently published in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Societyis the work of a primarily Chinese research team led by Zhang Lei and Yang Jing from the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University.
According to Yang, the new e-skin is a comprehensive upgrade from its previous version, developed in 2020, which was already weather-resistant and self-healing. But now the new features of this e-skin make it an invaluable tool for polar exploration, as it can accurately detect pressure, recognize shapes and symbols, even in extreme temperatures of -78 degrees Celsius:
“Already in 2020, the team developed the all-weather self-healing electronic skin, and the new version has been comprehensively improved.
“We hope this new achievement will have broad application prospects in China’s polar scientific research and other research fields.”
This is what Yang Jing points out in statements collected by XinhuaNews. This self-healing ability is an additional strength of the electronic skin. Even after being damaged in extreme cold conditions, its conductivity can be fully restored.
This last quality makes it ideal for long-term scientific research missions in arctic or polar conditions. Even researchers hope that this new breakthrough will have a significant impact on China's current polar exploration projects and other fields of research.
New robots with new e-skin
Robots equipped with this e-skin, in theory, will be able to perform more complex and precise tasks in polar environments, which will allow scientists to obtain new knowledge and make important discoveries that until now are frankly impossible due to the weather conditions in that area. zone.
The electronic skin resistant to extreme cold is an important technological innovation whose short-term application could solve some very specific challenges in the field of research.
Although it will be necessary to have a little patience to see the first applications of this technology in exploration robots.
The big question now is whether or not they will look like humanoids.