MIT Media Lab has commissioned Peratech Limited to develop a type of electronic ‘skin’ for robotic devices that will enable a robot to determine where it is being touched and with how much pressure. The project aims to develop a touch-sensitive surface layer for robots using Peratech’s patented ‘quantum tunnelling composite’ material.
Quantum tunnelling composites (QTCs) provide a measured response to force and/or touch by changing their electrical resistance. QTCs are electro-active polymeric materials made from metallic or non-metallic filler particles combined with an elastomeric binder. When pressure is applied to the material, the resistance drops in proportion to the amount of pressure, which enables the development of sophisticated human–machine interface designs that respond to variations in pressure.
QTCs can be used to fashion force-sensitive switches of any desired shape or size, which can be screen printed to enable the development of a switch matrix fabric as thin as 75 microns. Using Peratech's X/Y scanning technology, a robot can detect where it is being touched within a matrix of sensors. QTC technology has no moving parts and does not rely on contacts with air gaps. This makes it extremely reliable and suitable for integration into extremely thin electronic devices.
Peratech's QTC technology already has been adopted by NASA for their Robonaut and by Shadow Robot for their advanced robotic hand. The unique aspect of the Peratech/MIT project is that a person would be able to interact with a robot by touch contact with the robot’s body in the same way as with another person. The results of the joint MIT Media Lab / Peratech project could be applied to a range of robotics projects at MIT.
The April 2010 issue of Elektor will have an article on Fireflies, little robots designed to prove the concept of swarming.
Source: Peratech
Image: Peratech
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