Terminator-like smart synthetic skin ‘can repair itself in less than a second’

A NEW smart synthetic skin that can repair itself in less than a second like the cyborg in Terminator has been developed.

The electronic skin, or e-skin, is just as strong, stretchy and sensitive as human skin and could be used to monitor a person’s health or the structural condition of an airplane, say scientists.

While it is not the first time scientists have tried to “electronically” replicate human skin, previous attempts always fell short. This e-skin prototype can sense objects from up to eight inches away, react to things in under one tenth of a second and repair itself more than 5,000 times

Study author Dr Yichen Cai, of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, said: “The ideal e-skin will mimic the many natural functions of human skin, such as sensing temperature and touch, accurately and in real time.

“However, making suitably flexible electronics that can perform such delicate tasks while also enduring the bumps and scrapes of everyday life is challenging, and each material involved must be carefully engineered.”

Previous attempts to copy human skin combined a sensor layer, made from an active nano-material, with a stretchy layer that attaches to our skin.

But the connection between these two layers is often too weak or too strong, reducing its durability, sensitivity or flexibility, which makes it more likely to break.

Dr Cai said: “The landscape of skin electronics keeps shifting at a spectacular pace.

“The emergence of 2D sensors has accelerated efforts to integrate these atomically thin, mechanically strong materials into functional, durable artificial skins”

To address this issue, the researchers used a hydrogel reinforced with silica nanoparticles to create their “stretchy surface”.

They then combined it with a 2D titanium carbide Mxene sensor using highly conductive nano wires.

Co-author Dr Jie Shen said: “Hydrogels are more than 70 per cent water, making them very compatible with human skin.”

Their prototype e-skin can sense objects from 20 centimetres away and respond to stimuli in under one tenth of a second, the researchers say. It is highly sensitive, to the point where it can distinguish handwriting written on its surface.