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A bio-hybrid tactile sensor incorporating living artificial skin and an impedance sensing array
David Cheneler1, Elisa Buselli2, Domenico Camboni3
1School of Engineering, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UK. d.cheneler@lancaster.ac.uk.
Abstract:
The development of a bio-hybrid tactile sensor array that incorporates a skin analogue comprised of alginate encapsulated fibroblasts is described. The electrical properties are modulated by mechanical stress induced during contact, and changes are detected by a ten-channel dual-electrode impedance sensing array. By continuously monitoring the impedance of the sensor array at a fixed frequency, whilst normal and tangential loads are applied to the skin surface, transient mechanotransduction has been observed. The results demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the preliminary prototype bio-hybrid tactile sensor.
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