Sensitive skin, also known as sensate skin, is an electronic sensing skin placed on the surface of a machine such as a robotic arm. The goal of the skin is to sense important environmental parameters—such as proximity to objects, heat, moisture, and direct touch sensations. Examples of a sensitive skin have been made by a group in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 led by Takao Someya.

The group's work has been published in Proceedings of the (United States) National Academy of Sciences

United States National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...

. At this point they have shown pressure and temperature measurements at a resolution of a few millimeters.

The sensor arrays are based on many organic thin film transistors that are turned on one at a time and the current that flows through the sensor (electrical resistance

Electrical resistance

The electrical resistance of an electrical element is the opposition to the passage of an electric current through that element; the inverse quantity is electrical conductance, the ease at which an electric current passes. Electrical resistance shares some conceptual parallels with the mechanical...

-based) tells you how much pressure is being sensed. They have simultaneously measured pressure and temperature by using two separate arrays and laying one on top of another.