A

Seminar report
On
FLEXIBLE ELECTRONIC SKIN

Submitted for the partial fulfilment of requirements for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Submitted by

K.SAISUMA
(14BF1A0482)

S V COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
(Affiliated to JNTUA, Anantapur)

TIRUPATI – 517507
2017-2018

1
 S V COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
(Affiliated to JNTUA, Anantapuramu)
TIRUPATI – 517507

2017-2018

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that a seminar report entitled “FLEXIBLE ELECTRONIC SKIN“

a bonafide record of the seminar work done and submitted by K.SAISUMA

(14BF1A0482) for the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of B.Tech
Degree in ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING Of JNT

University Anantapur, Anantapur.

GUIDE COORDINATOR HOD

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am thankful to my guide Mr. M. Kishore Babu for his valuable guidance and
encouragement. His helping attitude and suggestions have helped in the successful completion of
the seminar report.

I am thankful to coordinator Mrs. T. Devi Padmaja, Assistant Professor for his guidance
and regular schedules.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those who helped directly or indirectly to
transform an idea into my working seminar report.

I would like to express our gratefulness and sincere thanks to Mr. A. Krishna Mohan,
Head of the Department of COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, for his kind help and
encouragement during the course of my study and in the successful completion of the seminar
report. I would like to express our hearty thanks to Dr. N. Sudhakar Reddy, Principal.

Successful completion of any seminar report cannot be done without proper support and
encouragement. I sincerely thanks to Management for providing all the necessary facilities
during the Course of study.

I would like to thank my parents and friends, who have the greatest contributions in all
my achievements, for the great care and blessings in making as successful in all my endeavors.

K.SAI SUMA

(14BF1A0482)
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE PAGE

LIST OF FIGURES i
ABSTRACT ii
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. EVOLUTION 2
3. ARCHITECTURE OF E-SKIN 3
4. FABRICATION OF E-SKIN
4.1By using Zinc oxide with vertical nanowires 6
4.2 By using Gallium Indium 7
4.3 By using Organic Transistors 8
4.4 By using Organic Light Emitting Diode 10
5. RESULT AND ANALYSIS BY APPLICATIONS
5.1 Advantages 11
5.2 Applications 12
6. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE 13
7. REFERENCE 14
 FIGURES

S.NO. LIST OF FIGURES TITLE PAGE

1. Artificial skin 1

2. Architecture of E-Skin 3

3. E-Skin attaches to hand 5

4. Zinc oxide with vertical nanowires E-Skin 6

5. By using Gallium Indium E-Skin 7

6. E-Skin by using Organic Transistors 8

7. E-Skin using OLED 10

8. E-Skin can monitor heart 11

9. Smart bandage using E-Skin 12

10. Virtual screens for knowing body functioning 13

 ABSTRACT

Electronics plays a very important role in developing simple devices used for any purpose.
In every field electronic equipment’s are required. The best achievement as well as future
example of integrated electronics in medical field is Artificial Skin. It is ultrathin
electronics device attaches to the skin like a sick on tattoo which can measure electrical
activity of heart, brain waves & other vital signals. Artificial skin is skin grown in a
laboratory. It can be used as skin replacement for people who have suffered skin trauma,
such as severe burns or skin diseases, or robotic applications. This paper focuses on the
Artificial skin(E-Skin) to build a skin work similar to that of the human skin and also it is
embedded with several sensations or the sense of touch acting on the skin. This skin is
already being stitched together. It consists of millions of embedded electronic measuring
devices: thermostats, pressure gauges, pollution detectors, cameras, microphones, glucose
sensors, EKGs, electronic holographs. This device would enhance the new technology
which is emerging and would greatly increase the usefulness of robotic probes in areas
where the human cannot venture. The sensor could pave the way for a overabundance of
new applications that can wirelessly monitor the vitals and body movements of a patient
sending information directly to a computer that can log and store data to better assist in
future decisions. This paper offers an insight view of the internal structure, fabrication
process and different manufacturing processes.
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

The Evolution in robotics is demanding increased perception of the environment.

Human skin provides sensory perception of temperature, touch/pressure, and air flow. Goal
is to develop sensors on flexible substrates that are compliant to curved surfaces.
Researcher’s objective is for making an artificial skin is to make a revolutionary change in
robotics, in medical field, in flexible electronics. Skin is large organ in human body so
artificial skin replaces it according to our need. Main objective of artificial skin is to sense
heat, pressure, touch, airflow and whatever which human skin sense. It is replacement for
prosthetic limbs and robotic arms. Artificial skin is skin grown in a laboratory. There are
various names of artificial skin in biomedical field it is called as artificial skin, in our
electronics field it is called as electronic skin, some scientist it called as sensitive skin, in
other way it also called as synthetic skin, some people says that it is fake skin. Such
different names are available but application is same it is skin replacement for people who
have suffered skin trauma, such as severe burns or skin diseases, or robotic applications &
so on. An artificial skin has also been recently demonstrated at the University of Cincinnati
for in-vitro sweat simulation and testing, capable of skin-like texture, wetting, sweat pore
density, and sweat rates.

FIG 1: ARTIFICIAL SKIN

 CHAPTER 2
EVOLUTION

Electronic skin or e-skin is a thin material designed to mimic human skin by

recognising pressure and temperature. In September 2010, Javey and the University of
California, Berkeley developed a method of attaching nanowire transistors and pressure
sensors to a sticky plastic film. In August 2011, Massachusetts-based MC10 created an
electronic patch for monitoring patient's vital health signs which was described as 'electric
skin'. The 'tattoos' were created by embedding sensors in a thin film. During tests, the
device stayed in place for 24 hours and was flexible enough to move with the skin it was
placed on. Javey's latest electronic skin lights up when touched. Pressure triggers a reaction
that lights up blue, green, red, and yellow LEDs and as pressure increases the lights get
brighter. Artificial skin identified by different name in a same way it is developed in
different laboratories such as in MIT (Massatucetes institute of technology), in Tokyo led
by Takao Someya, The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology,
and so on. In this report we see the different methods of manufacturing of artificial skin of
different scientist & its application with its future scope. Another form of ―artificial skin‖
has been created out of flexible semiconductor materials that can sense touch for those
with prosthetic limbs. The artificial skin is anticipated to augment robotics in conducting
rudimentary jobs that would be considered delicate and require sensitive ―touch‖.
Scientists found that by applying a layer of rubber with two parallel electrodes that stored
electrical charges inside of the artificial skin, tiny amounts of pressure could be detected.
When pressure is exerted, the electrical charge in the rubber is changed and the change is
detected by the electrodes. However, the film is so small that when pressure is applied to
the skin, the molecules have nowhere to move and become entangled. The molecules also
fail to return to their original shape when the pressure is removed. 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 led by Takao Someya.
 CHAPTER 3
ARCHITECTURE OF E-SKIN

With the interactive e-skin, demonstration is takes place an elegant system on

plastic that can be wrapped around different objects to enable a new form of HMI. Other
companies, including Massachusetts-based engineering firm MC10, have created flexible
electronic circuits that are attached to a wearer's skin using a rubber stamp. MC10
originally designed the tattoos, called Bio stamps, to help medical teams measure the
health of their patients either remotely, or without the need for large expensive machinery.
Fig 2 shows the various parts that make up the MC10 electronic tattoo called the
Biostamp. It can be stuck to the body using a rubber stamp, and protected using spray-on
bandages. The circuit can be worn for two weeks and Motorola believes this makes it
perfect for authentication purposes. Biostamp use high-performance silicon, can stretch up
to 200 per cent and can monitor temperature, hydration and strain, among other medical
statistics. Javey's study claims that while building sensors into networks isn't new,
interactive displays; being able to recognize touch and pressure and have the flexible
circuit respond to it is 'breakthrough'. His team is now working on a sample that could also
register and respond to changes in temperature and light to make the skin even more
lifelike.

FIG 2: ARCHITECTURE OF ELECTRONIC SKIN

 Large-area ultrasonic sensor arrays that could keep both robots and humans out of
trouble. An ultrasonic skin covering an entire robot body could work as a 360-degree
proximity sensor, measuring the distance between the robot and external obstacles. This
could prevent the robot from crashing into walls or allow it to handle our soft, fragile
human bodies with more care. For humans, it could provide prosthetics or garments that
are hyperaware of their surroundings. Besides adding multiple functions to e-skins, it’s
also important to improve their electronic properties, such as the speed at which signals
can be read from the sensors. For that, electron mobility is a fundamental limiting factor,
so some researchers are seeking to create flexible materials that allow electrons to move
very quickly. Ali Javey and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, have
had some success in that area. They figured out how to make flexible, large-area
electronics by printing semiconducting nanowires onto plastics and paper. Nanowires have
excellent electron mobility, but they hadn’t been used in large-area electronics before.
Materials like the ones Javey developed will also allow for fascinating new functions for e-
skins. My team has developed electromagnetic coupling technology for e-skin, which
would enable wireless power transmission. Imagine being able to charge your prosthetic
arm by resting your hand on a charging pad on your desk. In principle, any sort of
conductor could work for this, but if materials with higher electron mobility are used, the
transmission frequency could increase, resulting in more efficient coupling. Linking
sensors with radio-frequency communication modules within an e-skin would also allow
the wireless transmission of information from skin to computer—or, conceivably, to other
e-skinned people. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, John Rogers’s team
has taken the first step toward this goal. His latest version of an “electrical epidermis”
contained the antenna and ancillary components needed for radiofrequency
communication. What’s more, his electronics can be laminated onto your skin in the same
fashion as a temporary tattoo. The circuit is first transferred onto a water-soluble plastic
sheet, which washes away after the circuit is pressed on. Doctors could use these tiny
devices to monitor a patient’s vital signs without the need for wires and bulky contact pads,
and people could wear them discreetly beyond the confines of the hospital. Rogers and his
colleagues tried out a number of applications for their stick-on electronics. In their most
astonishing iteration, they applied circuitry studded with sensors to a person’s throat where
it could detect the muscular activity involved in speech. Simply by monitoring the signals,
researchers were able to differentiate among several words spoken by the test subject. The
user was even able to control a voice-activated video game. Rogers suggested that such a
device could be used to create covert, sub vocal communication systems. Skins that know
what we’re saying without having to say it, skins that can communicate themselves, skins
that extend our human capacities in directions we haven’t yet imagined—the possibilities
are endless. And while some readers may worry about e-skins being used to invade the
privacy of their bodies or minds, I believe the potential benefits of this technology offer
plenty of reasons to carry on with the work. For example, the car company Toyota has
already demonstrated a smart steering wheel that measures the electrical activity of the
driver’s heart; imagine a smart skin that can warn a patient of an oncoming heart attack
hours in advance. Human skin is so thin, yet it serves as a boundary between us and the
external world.

FIG 3: E-Skin attaches to hand

My dream is to make responsive electronic coverings that bridge that divide.

Instead of cold metal robots and hard plastic prosthetics, I imagine machines and people
clothed in sensitive e-skin, allowing for a two-way exchange of information. Making our
mechanical creations seem almost warm and alive and placing imperceptible electronics on
humans will change how people relate to technology. The harmonization of people and
machines: This is the cyborg future that e-skins could bring. Bendable sensors and displays
have made the tech rounds before, but a team of engineers at the University of California-
Berkeley have found a way to combine the two. Ali Javey and his lab have successfully
created e-skin, a pressure-sensitive circuit array that is thin, flexible, and luminescent. His
research can be found in the journal Nature Materials.
 CHAPTER 4
FABRICATION OF E-SKIN
There are different types of fabrications for making of E-skin. They are as follows
4.1 By using Zinc Oxide with vertical Nanowires: -
U.S. and Chinese Scientists used zinc oxide vertical nanowires to generate
sensitivity. According to experts, the artificial skin is "smarter and similar to human skin."
It also offers greater sensitivity and resolution than current commercially available
techniques. A group of Chinese and American scientists created experimental sensors to
give robots artificial skin capable of feeling. According to experts, the sensitivity is
comparable to that experienced by humans. Trying to replicate the body's senses and
indeed its largest organ, the skin, has been no mean feat but the need for such a substitute
has been needed for a while now, especially in cases of those to whom skin grafts have not
worked or indeed its use in robotics. To achieve this sensitivity, researchers created a sort
of flexible and transparent electronics sheet of about eight thousand transistors using
vertical nanowires of zinc oxide. Each transistor can directly convert mechanical motion
and touch into signals that are controlled electronically, the creators explained. “Any
mechanical movement, like the movement of an arm or fingers of a robot, can be converted
into control signals," the Professor Georgia Institute of Technology (USA), Zhong Lin
Wang. This technology "could make smarter artificial skin similar to human skin," said
Zhong, after stating that it provides greater sensitivity and resolution. The system is based
on piezoelectricity, a phenomenon that occurs when materials such as zinc oxide are
pressed. Changes in the electrical polarization of the mass can be captured and translated
into electrical signals thereby creating an artificial touch feeling.

FIG 4: ZINC OXIDE WITH VERTICAL NANOWIRES E-SKIN

4.2 By using Gallium Indium:-
The development of highly deformable artificial skin with contact force (or
pressure) and strain sensing capabilities is a critical technology to the areas of wearable
computing, haptic interfaces, and tactile sensing in robotics. With tactile sensing, robots
are expected to work more autonomously and be more responsive to unexpected contacts
by detecting contact forces during activities such as manipulation and assembly.
Application areas include haptics humanoid robotics, and medical robotics.

FIG 5: GALLIUM INDIUM E-SKIN

We describe the design, fabrication, and calibration of a highly compliant artificial

skin sensor. The sensor consists of multi-layered micro channels in an elastomer matrix
filled with a conductive liquid, capable of detecting multi axis strains and contact pressure.
A novel manufacturing method comprised of layered moulding and casting processes is
demonstrated to fabricate the multi-layered soft sensor circuit. Silicone rubber layers with
channel patterns, cast with 3-D printed moulds, are bonded to create embedded micro
channels, and a conductive liquid is injected into the micro channels. The channel
dimensions are 200 μm (width) × 300 μm (height). The size of the sensor is 25 mm × 25
mm, and the thickness is approximately 3.5 mm. The prototype is tested with a materials
tester and showed linearity in strain sensing and nonlinearity in pressure sensing. The
sensor signal is repeatable in both cases. The characteristic modulus of the skin prototype
is approximately 63 kPa. The sensor is functional up to strains of approximately 250% A
highly elastic artificial skin was developed using an embedded liquid conductor. Three
hyper-elastic silicon rubber layers with embedded micro channels were stacked and
bonded. The three layers contain different channel patterns for different types of sensing
such as multi-axial strain and contact pressure. A novel manufacturing method with
layered moulding and casting techniques was developed to build a multi-layered soft
sensor circuit. For strain sensing, the calibration results showed linear and repeatable
sensor signal. The gauge factors of the skin prototype are 3.93 and 3.81 in x and y axes,
respectively, and the minimum detectable displacements are 1.5 mm in x-axis and 1.6 mm
in y-axis. For pressure sensing, the prototype showed repeatable but not linear sensor
signals. The hysteresis level was high in a high pressure range (over 25 kPa). The sensor
signal was repeatable in both cases.
4.3 By using Organic Transistors:-

FIG 6: E-SKIN BY USING ORGANIC TRANSISTORS

They fabricated organic transistors and tactile sensors on an ultrathin polymer sheet
that measured 1 micrometre thick-one-tenth the thickness of plastic wrap and light enough
to drift through the air like a feather. This material can withstand repeated bending,
crumple like paper, and accommodate stretching of up to 230 per cent. What’s more, it
works at high temperatures and in aqueous environments—even in saline solutions,
meaning that it can function inside the human body. Flexible electronics using organic
transistors could serve a range of biomedical applications. For example, they’ve
experimented with electromyography, the monitoring and recording of electrical activity
produced by muscles. For this system, they distributed organic transistor-based amplifiers
throughout a 2-μm-thick film. This allowed us to detect muscle signals very close to the
source, which is key to improving the signal-to-noise ratio, and thus the accuracy of the
measurements. Conventional techniques typically use long wires to connect sensors on the
skin with amplifier circuits, which results in a pretty abysmal signal-to-noise ratio. And
they can imagine more medically urgent applications of such a system. In collaboration
with the medical school at the University of Tokyo, we’re working on an experiment that
will place our amplifier matrix directly on the surface of an animal’s heart. By detecting
electric signals from the heart with high spatial resolution and superb signal-to-noise ratios,
we should be able to zoom in on the exact location of problems in the heart muscle that can
lead to heart attacks.
Skin is essentially an interface between your brain and the external world. It senses a tap
on the shoulder or the heat from a fire, and your brain takes in that information and decides
how to react. If we want bionic skins to do the same, they must incorporate sensors that
can match the sensitivity of biological skins. But that is no easy task. For example, a
commercial pressure-sensitive rubber exhibits a maximum sensitivity of 3 kilopascals,
which is not sufficient to detect a gentle touch. To improve an e-skin’s responsiveness to
such stimuli, researchers are experimenting with a number of different techniques. Zhenan
Bao and her colleagues at Stanford University created a flexible membrane with
extraordinarily good touch sensitivity by using precisely moulded pressure-sensitive rubber
sandwiched between electrodes. A novel design of the thin rubber layer, using pyramid-
like structures of micrometre size that expand when compressed, allowed the material to
detect the weight of a fly resting on its surface. With such structures embedded in it, a
bionic skin could sense a breath or perhaps a gentle breeze. This kind of sensitivity would
be a great benefit in a prosthetic hand, for example, by giving the wearer the ability to grip
delicate objects. In the most recent application of Bao’s technology, her team turned the
pressure sensors around so that instead of detecting external stimuli, they measured a
person’s internal functions. The researchers developed a flexible pulse monitor that
responds to each subtle surge of blood through an artery, which could be worn on the inner
wrist under a Band-Aid. Such an unobtrusive monitor could be used to keep track of a
patient’s pulse and blood pressure while in the hospital or during surgery.
4.4 By Organic Light Emitting Diode:-
Javey and colleagues set out to make the electronic skin respond optically. The
researchers combined a conductive, pressure-sensitive rubber material, organic light
emitting diodes (OLEDs), and thin-film transistors made of semiconductor-enriched
carbon nanotubes to build an array of pressure sensing, light-emitting pixels. Whereas a
system with this kind of function is relatively simple to fabricate on a silicon surface, ―for
plastics, this is one of the more complex systems that has ever been demonstrated,” says
Javey. The diversity of materials and components that the researchers combined to make
the light-emitting pressure-sensor array is impressive, says John Rogers, a professor of
materials science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Rogers, whose group
has produced its own impressive flexible electronic sensors (see-“Electronic Sensors
Printed Directly on the Skin”), says the result illustrates how research in nanomaterial’s is
transitioning from the fundamental study of components and simple devices to the
development of “sophisticated, macro scale demonstrator devices, with unique function.”

FIG 7: E-SKIN USING OLED

In this artist's illustration of the University of California, Berkeley's interactive e-skin, the
brightness of the light directly corresponds to how hard the surface is pressed.
Semiconducting material and transistors are fitted to flexible silicon to mimic pressure on
human skin. The team is working on samples that respond to temperature. Scientists have
created what's been dubbed the world's first interactive 'electronic skin' that responds to
touch and pressure. When the flexible skin is touched, bent or pressed, built-in LED’s light
up - and the stronger the pressure, the brighter the light. The researchers, from the
University of California, claim the bendy e-skin could be used to restore feeling for people
with prosthetic limbs, in smart phone displays, car dashboards or used to give robots a
sense of touch. Scientists from the University of California have created what's been
dubbed the first 'electronic skin' that responds to touch and pressure by lighting up using
built-in lights.
4.4.1 Working of E-Skin by OLED:
 CHAPTER 5
RESULT & ANALYSIS BY APPLICATION
5.1 ADVANTAGES:-
1. Reduces number of wires
2. Compact in size
3. Attachment and detachment is easy
4. More flexible
5. Light in weight
6. It replaces present system of ECG and EEG
7. It gives sense to a robot
8. Wearable
9. Ultrathin
10. Twistable & stretchable
11. Easy to handle
5.2 APPLICATIONS:-
Some applications are given below to know the depth and use of electronic skin
 When the skin has been seriously damaged through disease or burns then human skin is
replaced by artificial skin.
 It is also used for robots. Robot senses the pressure, touch, moisture, temperature,
proximity to object.
 It can measure electrical activity of the heart, brain waves, muscle activity and other
vital signals.

FIG 8: E-SKIN CAN MONITOR HEART

 By using interfacial stress sensor we also measure normal stress & shear stress.
 Localized electrical stimulation: This is a ―smart bandage’’. Temperature is changes
across a wound.
 FIG 9: SMART BANDAGE USING E-SKIN

CHAPTER 6
FUTURE SCOPE AND CONCLUSION

 Bendable sensors and displays have made the tech rounds before.
 We can predict a patient of an oncoming heart attack hours in advance.
 In future even virtual screens may be placed on device for knowing our body functions.
 Used in car dashboard, interactive wallpapers, smart watches.
 FIG 10: VIRTUAL SCREENS FOR KNOWING BODY FUNCTIONING
The electronics devices gain more demand when they are compact in size and best
at functioning. The Artificial Skin is one such device which depicts the beauty of
electronics and its use in daily life. Scientists create artificial skin that emulates human
touch. According to experts, the artificial skin is "smarter and similar to human skin." It
also offers greater sensitivity and resolution than current commercially available
techniques. Bendable sensors and displays have made the tech rounds before.

CHAPTER 7
REFERENCES
 IEEE Sensors Journal, Vol.12, No.8, August 12 Massachusetts engineering firm
MC 10 Nature materials
 ICap Technologies, http://www.icaptech.com/.
 Artificial Skin - used, first, blood, body, produced, Burke and Yannas Create
Synthetic Skin, Graft skin.
 Discoveries in medicine.com. 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
 How is artificial skin made?: Information from". Answers.com. Retrieved 2013-10-
17.
 Robotic Tactile Sensing. Springer. p. 265. ISBN 978-94-007-0578-4. Park, B.
Chen, and R. J. Wood (Oct. 2011), Soft artificial skin with multimodal sensing
capability using embedded liquid conductors, Proc. IEEE Sensors Conf., Limerick,
Ireland, pp. 1–3.
 S. P. Lacour (Aug. 2005) et al., Stretchable interconnects for elastic electronic
surfaces, Proc. IEEE, vol. 93, pp. 1459–1467.