This magnetic skin can allow you to open a door with the blink of an eye, researchers say
- The artificial skin is made with an ultraflexible, biocompatible polymer matrix filled with magnetised microparticles
- The research team could see it potentially applied in human-computer interaction for people with paralysis
A Saudi research team has developed a ‘magnetic skin’ that can open a door or control a switch remotely with a simple wave of the hand or blink of an eye, as new technology continues to change the way humans interact with the outside world.
The lightweight and flexible skin, combined with magnetic sensors, can be placed on the hand, the fingertip or even the eyelid in any shape or colour, and enables remote control functions, according to scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, who published a study in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies.
The development team said their magnetic skin was “the first of its kind” with wireless sensing.
“Artificial electronic skins typically require a power supply and data storage or a communication network. This involves batteries, wires, electronic chips and antennas and makes the skins inconvenient to wear,” electrical engineer Jurgen Kosel, who led the project, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Our magnetic skin does not require any of this.”
The artificial skin is made with an ultraflexible, biocompatible polymer matrix filled with magnetised microparticles, which is an inexpensive and simple process, says Abdullah Almansour, a PhD student at KAUST involved in the study.