Researchers make “neuromorphic” artificial skin for robots

Chinese researchers developed artificial robotic skin that mimics how the human nervous system processes touch sensations through electrical spikes. The flexible polymer skin contains pressure sensors that convert touch into spike trains, using spike frequency to measure pressure intensity and other spike characteristics to identify sensor locations like biological bar codes. This neuromorphic approach allows seamless integration with energy-efficient AI chips that process spiking neural networks, potentially enabling more sophisticated robotic sensing and control systems.