Bridging sensory gap between artificial and real skin
"Smart" prosthetics still has a long road ahead. In the human, skin-based mechanoreceptors and thermoreceptors gather information streams from the environment but it is not so easy to create artificial skin for people in need of better-functioning prosthetics to experience the same. Sensory receptors in human skin transmit a wealth of tactile and thermal signals from external environments to the brain yet replication of these sensory characteristics in artificial skin and prosthetics has its challenges. Holding a cup with a prosthetic hand is one thing; being able to tell if it is scalding hot or lukewarm is another. Now a team of scientists from South Korea and the U.S are getting down to work to bring better capabilities of touch for prosthetics.