Human fingers do more than just sense surface textures. They also tell us a lot about what lies beneath. For example, a really firm handshake will tell you where your bones are, and with enough stimulation, you can even find your tendons.
Inspired by this ability, scientists have developed finger-like devices that map the internal structure of an object in 3D by touching its surface. Previous tactile sensors detected external shape, stiffness, and texture, but not subsurface details.for studying in cell report physical scienceresearchers tested the device by scanning simulated human tissue and electronic circuits.
“This bionic finger has interesting potential applications in materials characterization and biomedical engineering,” says study co-author Jimin Cheng, an engineer at Wuyi University in China. “This technology could also be incorporated into robots and prosthetic limbs, which is our next research topic.”
The new “fingers” contain carbon fiber tactile sensors that return stronger signals when pressed against harder objects. The device moves across the surface of an object, poking each location several times to feel a rising pressure level. This process reveals subsurface details, such as hard layers inside softer materials. “When pushed by this bionic finger, hard objects maintain their shape, while soft objects deform when enough pressure is applied,” said Jian Yi, engineer at Wuyi, senior author of the study. Luo said. “This information, along with the recorded position, is sent to a computer and in real time he is displayed as a 3D image.”
Other imaging methods such as X-ray, PET, MRI, and ultrasound each have their advantages and disadvantages. X-rays carry health risks and other options lack portability or speed. Many are expensive. Newer devices are unlikely to be significantly cheaper than ultrasound, but may offer better resolution. “It offers another way of doing things, and in certain situations it has its own advantages,” says Sriram Subramanian, an engineer at University College London who was not involved in the study. . “I don’t think it’s easy to do ultrasound imaging of printed electronics.”
In simulated human tissue, the device pinpointed bones and blood vessels. For flexible electronic circuits encapsulated in soft materials, circuit breaks and accidentally drilled holes have been detected. “When we make them [devices]We’re always worried that if something breaks, the only way to know is to take it apart,” Sublamanian says.
The device struggles to map objects with too hard outer surfaces and can miss details under hard layers. The researchers plan to extend the invention to more dimensions, and possibly other directions as well. “This system could be extended to multiple fingers, similar to our hands, to achieve ‘omnidirectional’ detection,” Chen said. “This will allow us to get more complete information.”
