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AI-Enhanced Bionic Aquatic E-Skin Enables Precise Capture of Minimal Tactile Differences Toward Undisturbed
Zhongtan Zhang1,2,3,4, Huanyu Yang3,4, Zixuan Zhang3,4
1State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|March 27, 2026
Summary
We developed an AI-enhanced electronic skin (E-skin) for underwater robots. This advanced tactile sensing technology accurately detects subtle object differences in noisy aquatic environments, improving marine exploration.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Materials Science
- Biomimetics
Background:
- Underwater robots require reliable tactile perception for marine exploitation.
- Existing haptic sensing struggles with distinguishing object properties due to hydrodynamic noise and pressure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an aquatic electronic skin (E-skin) for robust underwater tactile perception.
- To overcome limitations of current sensing technologies in noisy marine environments.
Main Methods:
- Designed a bioinspired fish lateral line E-skin with a bionic fish-scale array, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) powders, and an ionic hydrogel.
- Integrated feature-fusion machine learning for signal processing and classification.
- Tested E-skin on a robotic fish for swimming state detection.
Main Results:
- The E-skin effectively decouples tactile signatures from water flow and hydrostatic pressure.
- Achieved high sensitivity to minute surface variations and precise classification of texture, hardness, and roughness (0.8–1600 µm).
- Demonstrated potential for intelligent aquaculture through fish swimming state detection.
Conclusions:
- The AI-enhanced E-skin significantly improves the reliability of underwater minimal difference perception.
- This technology unlocks new interaction capabilities for marine applications in challenging aquatic environments.
