Bioinspired electronic-skin for proximity and pressure detection in robot active sensing

Abstract Active sensing technology plays an essential role in environment–robot interactions. Inspired by the proximity sensing approach of weakly electric fish, which relies on distributed electroreceptors capable of detecting electric fields, we propose a flexible electronic skin (e-skin) or proximity and pressure detection. Conductive thermoplastic polyurethane and dielectric polyurethane are employed for flexible electrodes and substrates, respectively. An ecoflex-based elastic layer enables decoupling proximity and pressure information from the electric field. The proposed electronic skin can detect objects as far as 160 mm while performing real-time proximity and pressure sensing. Finally, we demonstrate that robots equipped with the e-skin can easily explore their surroundings and perform specific tasks such as recognition, avoidance, and grasping. The developed e-skin, with proximity and pressure-sensing capabilities and a low-cost fabrication process, can have broad application potential in robot active sensing.