Researchers from Berkeley Lab, University of California at Berkeley, create “e-whiskers’ for robots

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have created so called ''e-whiskers'' sensitive, tactile sensors that are similar to a cat's whiskers and which could used to help robots feel their way around a space.

Berkeley Lab's Ali Javey, explained that whiskers were used by certain animals to monitor wind and navigate around obstacles and spaces.

The artificial whiskers created by Javey and his team are capable of responding to pressures as slight as that of a dollar bill resting on a table.

According to Javey, the electronic whiskers consisted of high-aspect-ratio elastic fibres coated with conductive composite films of nanotubes and nanoparticles.

He added, in tests, these whiskers were 10 times more sensitive to pressure than all previously reported capacitive or resistive pressure sensors.

For creating the e-whiskers, the researchers used a carbon nanotube paste to form a flexible, electrically-conductive network matrix.

A thin film of silver nanoparticles was then added to make the matrix sensitive to mechanical strain.

According to Javey, the sensitivity and electrical resistivity of the composite film could be changed by adjusting the ratio of carbon nanotubes to silver nanoparticles.

Once ready, the composite was painted or printed onto elastic fibres to form the e-whiskers and adding the e-whiskers to a robot allowed the robot to detect obstacles in the same way that a cat does, helping with decision about which direction to move.

Cat whiskers serve a useful purpose apart from making the felines look cute. They work as sensors, and help cats make up for their poor eyesight. Thanks to their whiskers the animals can sense small changes in wind which help then navigate through small, dark spaces.

Javey, is excited about the potential uses for the biological-inspired technology.

''The ease of fabrication, light weight and excellent performance of our e-whiskers should have a wide range of applications for advanced robotics, human-machine user interfaces, and biological applications,'' he said in a press release.

According to the team, lightweight and wearable sensors could detect joint movement and measure heartbeat and pulse rate. The team had also used the e-whiskers to make 2D and 3D maps of wind flow.