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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Artificial Skin Realizes Asimov's 1st Law of Robotics

Artificial skin is what robots need to keep us safe with algorithms that shut them down immediately if their skin contacts a human. Look for artificial skin to be mandated for robots operating around people within the decade. R.C.J.


Here is what Fraunhofer Institute says about their invention: artificial skin covering the robot...[consists] of conductive foam, textile and an intelligent evaluation circuit. The sensor system detects points of contact and differentiates between gentle and strong contact. It registers people immediately. The shape and size of the sensor cells implemented in the skin can be varied depending on the application. They detect any contact. The higher the number of sensor cells, the more precisely a point of collision can be detected. A sensor controller processes the measured values and transmits them to the robot or, alternatively, a computer, a machine or production line...
Full Text: http://bit.ly/NextGenLog-cMq4