What is electronic skin? How does wearable skin work?

What is electronic skin

Electronic skin (e-skin for short) is a bionic material used to simulate the perception and response functions of human skin. It is usually composed of flexible, thin electronic devices, sensors, and artificial neural networks.

The main components of electronic skin include the following aspects:

Flexible substrate: Electronic skin usually adopts flexible substrate materials, such as polymer films or curved silicon substrates, to adapt to the contact between human body curves and surfaces.

Sensors: Electronic skin is equipped with various sensors to sense different physical and chemical signals. For example, pressure sensors can detect changes in pressure applied to the skin, temperature sensors can measure ambient temperature, humidity sensors can monitor humidity levels, and so on.

Electronics: The electronic skin also contains electronic devices connected to the sensors, such as amplifiers, filters, and data processing units. These devices convert the signals collected by the sensors into a form that can be interpreted and used.

Power supply: In order to keep the electronic skin working properly, it is usually necessary to provide power supply. This can be achieved through built-in batteries, rechargeable batteries or wireless energy transmission.

Data processing and communication: The processing unit on the electronic skin can process and analyze the collected data and convert the information into a usable form. At the same time, it can also exchange and transmit data with external devices through wired or wireless communication technology.

The composition of electronic skin can vary according to specific application requirements and design ideas, but the overall goal is to simulate the perception function of human skin and realize the ability to perceive, respond and interact with the external environment. It has broad application prospects in the fields of medicine, robotics, wearable devices, etc.

How wearable skin works

Wearable electronic skin works similarly to traditional electronic devices, but it is more flexible and adaptable and can fit on human skin. Here is the general working principle of wearable electronic skin:

Sensor detection: Wearable electronic skin is equipped with various sensors, such as pressure sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, etc. These sensors will continuously collect biological signals from the human body surface and external environmental parameters.

Data acquisition and processing: The signals collected by the sensor will be converted into electrical signals and processed preliminarily through the internal circuit. This includes steps such as amplification, filtering and analog-to-digital conversion to extract valid data and eliminate noise.

Internal communication and control: After preliminary processing, the signal will be transmitted to the internal control unit or microprocessor. This unit is responsible for further processing, parsing and analyzing the data and making decisions based on preset algorithms and models.

External communication and connection: Wearable electronic skin can communicate and connect with external devices (such as smartphones, computers or other wearable devices) through wired or wireless means. This can realize functions such as data transmission, sharing and remote control.

Data display and feedback: Wearable electronic skin can use built-in displays, vibrators or sound devices to display and feedback processed data in a way that people can perceive and understand. For example, displaying measurement results on a display screen, reminding users through vibration, etc.

Wearable electronic skin integrates sensors, data processing units and communication modules to detect, analyze and interact with human biological signals and the external environment. It can be widely used in medical monitoring, sports health, virtual reality, smart bracelets and other fields, providing users with a more convenient, comfortable and personalized experience.