16-03-2017, 12:57 PM
The electronic skin or e-skin is a thin electronic material that mimics human skin in one or more ways. Specifically, human skin can feel pressure and temperature, stretch, and can heal itself. The electronic skin aims to apply these functions to robotic and health applications. Microelectronic technology and the subsequent miniaturization that started almost immediately after the transistor was invented have improved our lives through revolutionized computing and communication. The exponential rate of advancement described in Moore's Law has been driven by $ 1Tr of investment over 50 years. Recent advances in the field were carried out through "More than Moore" technology and powered by applications such as portable electronics and flexible displays. These applications require making electronic components on non-conventional media such as plastics. The possibility of making sensitive electronic systems in large areas is another aspect of this flourishing field, which will open new avenues of application such as intelligent robotics enabled by conformable electronic skin wrapped around the body of a robot or artificial limbs. Beginning with the development of electronic skin using sensors and electronic components on flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs) and followed by various electronic skin approaches, the conference concluded with a discussion on emerging novel approaches involving printed silicon nanowires.