The University of Bristol has recently developed a 3D-printed fingertip that feels like human skin to improve prosthetic hands.
Indeed, the researchers found out that artificial fingertips could produce artificial nerve signals mimicking human touch. To do so, they used a 3D-printed mesh of tiny pin-like bumps similar to the ones on human skin. Although the result is a close match to the neural data, it is still not as sensitive to finer details due to 3D-printed skin begin thicker.
This advancement in artificial intelligence is vital to uncovering how the complex internal structure of human skin can create a human sense of touch. In the future, the University would like to develop artificial skin that is indistinguishable from real skin.
