Translated Text:

In the future, hydrogels may also be used to create artificial skin, wearable electronic devices, and implants for the brain. Currently, they are potential research products for use in simulative robotic skin materials. The official deployment of flexible electrode materials is still some time away, but their application prospects are very broad.

At present, there are not many materials available for robotic simulative skin, mainly silicone rubber, TPE materials, hydrogels, and flexible electrode materials. Among them, silicone rubber has already been applied, TPE materials have not been used by manufacturers, and hydrogels and flexible electrode materials are potential research products.

Silicone Rubber

Silicone rubber is a type of thermoset elastomer. Currently, silicone rubber is the primary material used for robotic skin coatings, also known as body silicone, addition-type silicone rubber, and two-component addition-type silicone rubber. It consists of two components: Component A is silicone rubber, and Component B is a curing agent; the two components are mixed in a specific ratio. The product is a colorless or skin-colored oily liquid that becomes a flexible elastic material after vulcanization.

Silicone rubber is the most common material used as a simulative human material. Silicone materials not only have excellent touch, but also exhibit significant temperature resistance. However, due to the complex processing technology of silicone materials, the cost is relatively expensive. Therefore, the cost of a single simulative silicone robot is high, and the market demand is relatively low compared to other service robots.

TPE Materials

According to the "2018-2023 TPE Industry Market In-Depth Research and Investment Prospect Prediction Analysis Report" published by the Sincerity Industry Research Center, TPE is a thermoplastic elastomer that is environmentally friendly, non-toxic, easy to color, smooth and soft to the touch, with a hardness range of 0A-120A. It is simple to process and mold, does not require vulcanization processing, and can be recycled to reduce costs. Currently, TPE, as the third-generation rubber, has achieved extremely rapid development worldwide. TPE materials are synthetic materials between rubber and plastic, possessing the characteristics of rubber and the processing properties of plastic. However, TPE materials have not been used for the skin of service simulative robots on the market.

Water-based Polymer Hydrogels

Invented by Zhao Xuanhe, a Chinese-American scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Due to their softness and elasticity, hydrogels have a wide range of applications, one of which is as a wound dressing placed on skin wounds. The moist hydrogel can prevent wound drying, infection, and relieve pain. Additionally, the hydrogel itself does not adhere to the skin surface and will not cause secondary injury to the skin when removed.

Water-based polymer hydrogels are 95% water, soft, and smooth, making them highly compatible with the human body. Furthermore, due to a thin layer of elastomer covering its surface, it can lock in the moisture within the gel like human skin, keeping it moist and skin-friendly for a long time. Moreover, it is an excellent conductor and can be implanted in a series of electronic devices.

Flexible Electrode Materials

The team led by Professor Bao Zhenan, a chemical engineer at Stanford University in the United States, has been dedicated to the development of "tactile" "artificial skin" for many years. This "artificial skin" is actually a unique electronic component made of sensitive electronic materials that can be stretched and can sense changes in current caused by small pressures. The material for this artificial skin is a polymer material that Bao Zhenan calls "flexible electrode material." It not only has high flexibility and stretchability but can also self-repair like human skin and is biodegradable.

This skin-like soft plastic electronic material not only looks like human skin but also has a high level of perception similar to that of small flying insects. This material has broad application value. If applied in medicine, it can be used to create detectors that accurately distinguish between hard cancer cells and soft healthy cells for cancer patients, enabling rapid and accurate removal of cancer cells. If used on car steering wheels, the sensor will promptly remind the driver when they let go of the steering wheel due to fatigue, distraction, etc., preventing traffic accidents. If applied to robots, robots can gently pick up an egg without crushing it, which will greatly improve various aspects of robot performance.

Currently, silicone rubber is a conventional product. Due to TPE's advantages in processing performance, recyclability, and cost, it may become the preferred alternative material to silicone rubber. In the future, hydrogels may also be used to create artificial skin, wearable electronic devices, and implants for the brain. Currently, they are potential research products for use in simulative robotic skin materials. The official deployment of flexible electrode materials is still some time away, but their application prospects are very broad.