South China Morning Post
21st November 2023
Chinese scientists create machine fingers that touch and feel like human hands
A new sensory system that mimics a human fingertip has been created by a team of Chinese scientists, with the hope that one day it could bring the vivid sensation of touch to a robot or to a patient who has lost their hand.
Developed by researchers from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, Xidian University in Xian and University of Houston, the sensor’s AI technology can recognise different textures, including wool, linen, nylon, polyester and twill, with results shown to users in real time.
“The sensory system integrated on a prosthetic fingertip can identify 20 different commercial textiles with a 100 per cent accuracy at a fixed sliding rate,” the team wrote in an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications on Wednesday.