ScienceTalk

Electronic skins - fiction or reality?

Advanced stretchable electronics open doors to skin-like devices that could potentially personalise beauty regimes, track health indicators and make robotics smarter.

Assistant Professor Benjamin Tee from the National University of Singapore has won awards for his research on “electronic skin” for use in robotics and prosthetic devices.
PHOTO: NUS
New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

Skin is our interface to the physical world. It not only protects us from harmful environmental effects, but also provides the touch sensations needed for our daily activities.

In addition to touch, our skin senses temperature, humidity and even gentle breezes, giving us a rich experience of the physical world.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 20, 2019, with the headline Electronic skins - fiction or reality?. Subscribe