Artificial skin through super-sensing method and electrical impedance data from conductive fabric with aid of deep learning

Xi Duan,Manuchehr Soleimani,Sebastien Taurand

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45484-6

Xi Duan, Manuchehr Soleimani + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45484-6

Copy DOI

Abstract

Sense of touch is a major part of man’s communication with their environment. Artificial skins can help robots to have the same sense of touch, especially for their social interactions. This paper presents a pressure mapping sensing using piezo-resistive fabric to represent aspects of the sense of touch. In past few years’ electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is considered to be able offer a good alternative for artificial skin in particular for its ease of adaptation for large area skin compared to individual matrix based sensors. The EIT has also very good temporal performance in data collection allowing for monitoring of fast responses to touch stimulation, enabling a truly real time touch sensing. Electromechanical responses of a conductive fabric can be exploited using EIT to create a low cost and large area touch sensing. Such electromechanical properties are often very complex, so to improve the imaging resolution and touch visibility an artificial intelligent (AI) was used in addition to the state of the art spatio-temporal imaging algorithm. This work demonstrates a step towards an integrated seamless skin with large area sensing in dynamical settings, closer to natural human skin’s behaviour. For the first time a dynamical touch sensing are studies by means of a spatio-temporal based electrical impedance tomography (EIT) imaging on a conductive fabric. The experimental results demonstrated the successful results by a combined AI with dynamical EIT imaging results in single and multiple points of touch.

Highlights

Over the last two decades, there are various types of artificial skin based on different touch sensing techniques have been developed[1]
An ideal material used in Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) system for artificial skin would be light-weight, have continuous and homogeneous conductivity, low-cost, local conductivity changes in response to touch or pressure and will not be affected by stretching
Pressure or touch could be detected by fabric EIT system statically

Summary

Introduction

Over the last two decades, there are various types of artificial skin based on different touch sensing techniques have been developed[1]. Piezoresistive sensor measures the resistance changes of the elastomer, foam, conductive carbon ink or other conductive material while the pressure force applied directly[2,3] This well-structured touch sensor is commonly used on robotic hands, gives high resolution and low cost[4,5]. Optoelectronic sensors use optical technology; the pressure can be detected by changing in light intensity or spectrum It has the advantages of large sensing range, high spatial resolution, immune to electromagnetic interference and fast response, but they are huge in size, required high power supply[7,8]. A tactile distribution sensor which enables stable measurement under high and dynamic stretch was [14] They demonstrated an improved EIT-based fabric sensor which can map local pressure. 4 key parts of the EIT system are shown below, The basic EIT system has four main components: (i) EIT-Instrumentation, (ii) Electrode Array or EIT Sensors, (iii) PC with Reconstruction Algorithm, and (iv) Subject under test (SUT)

Methods

Results

Conclusion