Robots Get Bestowed Humanlike Sense Of Touch When They Wear A Knitted Sweater

Despite a robot’s myriad functions, it still doesn’t have the same five senses humans do. In particular, without a sense of touch, androids do not recognize their own strength or require additional sensors to be able to detect contact with other people or objects.

To allow these androids to gain a sense of touch without having to add costly upgrades, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed the ‘RobotSweater’—a knitted “garment” that can be wrapped around a machine that allows it to sense external pressure.

The sweater, made from three layers of stacked material, comprises a top and bottom layer of nylon yarn with metallic-fiber conductive yarn weaved in between. These stripes of conductive yarn are positioned to form a grid, sandwiching a middle layer of non-conductive mesh.

As such, the sweater’s “touch” feature works when the two layers of conductive material separated from each other connect when pressure is applied. The circuit then closes, producing an electrical signal that allows the robot to determine exactly where contact has been made.

For example, should a human worker bump into a robot on the factory floor, the RobotSweater will help the machine determine which direction the employee has approached, allowing it to immediately cease movement in order not to cause its counterpart any harm.

Due to the flexible nature of the knitted fabric, the garment can be applied to cover any parts of a robot, including any components that are awkwardly shaped or robotic arms that move around that wouldn’t be able to be fitted with regular, rigid sensors. 

Going forward, the technology may extend to enabling humans to train robots just by touching or physically guiding them. Finger swipes and pinch commands could be added to the mix, too, just like in the case of a smartphone touchscreen.

[via New Atlas and Inceptive Mind, cover image by Carnegie Mellon University and featured with permission]