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Neuro-encoded electronic skin

Project description

A new era in e-skin technology to revolutionise neurobotics

Electronic skin (e-skin) holds promise for replicating human tactile sensations, but faces critical limitations. Current prototypes lack computational capabilities and focus primarily on integrating sensors onto flexible substrates. This makes them difficult to integrate seamlessly with biological systems or to function efficiently for robots. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the NEUCODES project aims to develop an e-skin that functions more like real skin by using new materials and techniques. Specifically, the project will fabricate neuron circuit arrays using nanomaterials and interface them with tactile sensors on a soft substrate. This development could lead to major advances in robotics and interactive technology.

Objective

Electronic skin (e-skin) is a fast-emerging soft system to provide tactile sensations like our own skin. However, most of the prototypes today focus on the integration of various sensors on flexible substrates, which can hardly be integrated neurologically onto biological systems nor used over a large area as sensing components for robots: this is mainly because of their mismatch in various aspects including mechanical softness, computing/encoding capability, power consumption.

This proposal aims to bring a step-change by developing an e-skin truly rooted in biological systems: the proposed e-Skin will respond to external stimuli (e.g. force) and encode the sensory information in the form of action potentials, just as the biological systems (i.e. sensory neurons) do. This will be achieved by innovative fabrication of neuron circuit arrays over a large area using nanomaterials, and further interfaced with tactile sensors, all on the soft substrate.

Such “bio-like” localised processing, offered by the soft system, greatly decreases the latency of the sensory data, necessary for the upscaling of the sensing pixels to achieve human-level tactile sensation. Furthermore, this paves the way for the interfacing between soft electronics and biology, triggering transformations in the next generation of neurorobotics, neuroprosthesis and interactive systems.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01

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Coordinator

FONDAZIONE BRUNO KESSLER
Net EU contribution
€ 288 859,20
Address
VIA SANTA CROCE 77
38122 Trento
Italy
Region
Nord-Est Provincia Autonoma di Trento Trento
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
No data

Partners (2)