Robots get sensitive with hairy skin

Robots and prosthetics are becoming ever more human-like, but the electronic skins designed to enhance their usefulness do not yet have the full range of tactile senses that we have. For example, they cannot “feel” a light breeze. But fine hair, which covers 95% of the human body, helps us feel the slightest wind. To capture that sensation, researchers have developed separate sensors that mimic this fine hair by sensing and detecting air flow. However, that’s about all these particular devices can do. Rongguo Wang, Lifeng Hao, and colleagues wanted to expand on this, combining the features of electronic skin and hair in a single device.