New £1 million ARIA grant to develop robotic skin that gives robots a sense of touch

The goal of ARIA's Robot Dexterity programme is to establish the basis for a new industry that can help society better address the labour challenges of tomorrow and lead to a step-change in human productivity and welfare.

Compared to the staggering advances in computation in recent years, robot bodies have seen remarkably little development since the 1950s. The pioneering new project, MagTecSkin, aims to address this problem and transform robotic dexterity through an innovative electronic skin powered by magnetic technology, potentially revolutionising the robotics industry.

The human skin’s ability to sense touch, pressure, and texture is critical for dexterity - a feature that has long eluded robots. Current robotic skins can measure forces but lack flexibility, making them unsuitable for covering complex shapes like robotic fingers or soft, deformable surfaces.

Enter MagTecSkin: a novel, stretchable electronic skin utilising magnetic technology to measure three-dimensional contact forces across multiple points.

Dr Jamone said, “MagTecSkin aims to develop an innovative robotic skin that gives robots a sense of touch using magnetic technology. It can detect contact forces at multiple points while remaining flexible enough to bend and stretch. This breakthrough will enable to fully cover articulated and soft robots with the skin, to give them an enhanced sense of touch which enables higher dexterity in tasks within manufacturing, logistics, agri-food, and healthcare.”

The research project brings together renowned experts from three continents, allowing cross-disciplinary collaboration with researchers from backgrounds in both academia and industry.

• UCL (UK): Project lead Dr Lorenzo Jamone, an expert in magnetic-based tactile sensing and robotic manipulation.
• Imperial College London (UK): Prof Emiliano Bilotti, a specialist in soft nanocomposites and functional polymers.
• INESC-MN (Portugal): Prof Susana Cardoso, an expert in magnetoresistive sensors and flexible electronics.
• O’Higgins University (Chile): Prof Stefan Escaida, an authority on 3D simulations for soft robots and sensors.

The MagTecSkin project stands to redefine the boundaries of robotic dexterity, bringing cutting-edge tactile sensing capabilities closer to reality for industries worldwide.

*The image is conceptual artwork only*

LINKS:
ARIA
Cognitive Robotics and Intelligent Systems for the People (CRISP)
Dr Lorenzo Jamone
Prof Emiliano Bilotti
Prof Susana Cardoso
Prof Stefan Escaida