Two kinds of polymeric materials make a chameleon bionic electronic skin
Two kinds of polymeric materials make a chameleon bionic electronic skin
Researchers at Stanford university have created a flexible, color-changing pressure-sensitive material that is the closest thing to a chameleon skin. Touch the electronic skin with different force and it will change the color. In the future, this electronic skin will be widely used in interactive wearable devices, artificial prosthetics and intelligent robots, the researchers said. Similar discoloration materials used to be available, but few materials can still perceive pressure, and none of them are elastic. The new electronic skin has these three characteristics for the first time. Paper first author, Stanford university Zhou Hexiu said, this is a copy of the chameleon electronic skin elasticity and the size of the change on the pressure and time, will make it easier to control electronic skin color; In turn, the pressure can be resolved by changing the color of the skin. New electronic skin is mainly composed of two parts: the elastic microstructure polymeric material and elastic discoloration polymer materials, the former can change with pressure voltage, which can vary with voltage and red or blue. The researchers used a fluffy bear to demonstrate how the electronic skin discolored. They attached pressure sensitive material to the bear's palm and connected it to electrochromic material placed on the belly of the bear. The electrochromic material is a dark red, then it is bluish when it is lightly pressed with a small bear (about 50 kpa), and then goes back to dark red when it is released. It is changed to light blue with a strong grip (about 200 kpa). This is a multi-step process, the researchers explained. The pressure of the handshake causes the resistance of the pressure-sensitive material to decrease, thereby increasing the voltage of the electrochromic materials, and the oxidation material changes the chemical structure slightly, thus significantly changing the absorption spectrum. This process can be reversed quickly after the stress has been removed. While the electrochromic materials used in the study can only be changed between red and blue, the researchers hope that other electrochromic materials will have more color, which could lead to wider applications. Electronic skin possible and can be worn or carried equipment, such as clothes, smart phones, smart watches, integrated all sorts of color into a device, can be used as a way of interactive decoration or express emotions. The changes in the color of the electronic skin can also be used to identify stress, which can be combined with anything that wants to know its surface stress, zhou said. It also has camouflage, which can be used for prosthetics and smart robots. Elastic systems can be well attached to surfaces and dynamic surfaces, but traditional hard materials do not. Piezoelectric materials stimulate the discoloration material, which is artificial multicolored skin, and it is similar to the principle of chameleon skin: the latter is the nerve stimulation pigment cells expand and shrink. Artificial imitation is more simple and controllable; Natural genuine products can look at color, temperature, endocrine, mental state and change color, more complex and interesting. It is not impossible to develop a discoloured skin in the future. At that point, we look at the stock market, and the face really turns green.
