Researchers from the University of Minnesota built a unique 3D printer which can print tactile sensors directly onto your hand.

3D printing is becoming a lot more hands-on, quite literally. Researchers from the University of Minnesota developed 3D printing technique which can give machines the sense of touch.

In a paper published in Advanced Materials, Michael C. McAlpine and his colleagues explain their development of flexible inks which are curable at room temperature. This cooler temperature is beneficial as 3D printing using plastic would be too hot to print on delicate surfaces.

The inks also offer electrical conductivity and tunable printability. Because of these properties, the researchers developed a silicone pressure sensor. For testing purposes, they 3D printed the tactile sensor directly onto a mannequin’s hand.

Currently, the sensor is a rather simple at just 4mm-wide. However, it certainly shows off how this technology could develop by being able to print on a curved fingertip. McAlpine points out that in future, they plan to extend the concept to human hands and also machines of all kind. McAlpine explained to Digital Trends:

“This work involves the 3D printing of stretchable sensors which act as tactile or touch sensors… In other words, when you touch the sensor, you get a change in electrical conductivity as a result of how the touch interacts with the device.”

What Makes this Technology so Handy?

McAlpine continues:

“The device consists of many layers of 3D printed materials which are first formulated as inks, and then extruded into device ‘fabrics’ that are stretchable. These fabrics are connected by a central coil which is particularly responsive to pressure, and therefore gives the entire device the ability to ‘feel.’”

In the future, there could be many benefits to flexible sensory devices. This ability to “feel” could have uses in both surgery and robotics. For example, rather than relying on cameras, surgeons could give surgical robots the ability to feel. Also, this development could be used for giving everyday robots a sense of touch.

Eventually, the hope is also that this technology could help anyone who loses their sense of touch through skin damage. This is only possible if 3D printing onto the human body becomes easier.

However, the team are confident in their developments. McAlpine explains:

“With most research, you discover something and then it needs to be scaled up. Sometimes it could be years before it ready for use. This time, the manufacturing is built right into the process so it is ready to go now.”

Source: Digital Trends