Researchers are developing soft sensor materials based on ceramics. Such sensors can feel temperature, strain, pressure, or humidity, for instance, which makes them interesting for use in medicine, but also in the field of soft robotics.

The research group has succeeded in producing soft sensors that react very selectively only to pressure or only to temperature. The researchers integrated these sensors into a prosthetic hand. The prosthesis senses the flexion of its fingers and notices when it touches a hot surface. Such sensitivity would be an advantage both for robotic gripping tools and for human prostheses.

Similar to human skin, the multi-layered plastic skin reacts to touch and temperature differences. In order to evaluate the complex data, the researchers developed an AI model and trained it using data from around 4,500 measurements. This is also reminiscent of human perception, as the nerve impulses from our skin are evaluated and extrapolated in the brain. They were also able to combine the ceramic sensors with artificial muscles. (Image credit: Empa)

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Topics:
Assistive Robotics Ceramics Implants & Prosthetics Materials Medical Robotics

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    This article first appeared in the March, 2025 issue of Medical Design Briefs Magazine (Vol. 15 No. 3).

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