E-whiskers: Berkeley Researchers Develop Whiskers for Robots
Posted on January 22, 2014
Researchers at the University of California (UC) Berkeley have created created e-whiskers using composite films of carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticles. The researchers say the e-whiskers respond to pressure as slight as a single Pascal, which is about the pressure exerted on a table surface by a dollar bill.
Ali Javey, a faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and a UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer science, is leading the research. He says in the Berkeley Lab release, "Whiskers are hair-like tactile sensors used by certain mammals and insects to monitor wind and navigate around obstacles in tight spaces. Our electronic whiskers consist of high-aspect-ratio elastic fibers coated with conductive composite films of nanotubes and nanoparticles. In tests, these whiskers were 10 times more sensitive to pressure than all previously reported capacitive or resistive pressure sensors."
An array of seven vertically placed e-whiskers (pictured above) was used for 3D mapping of wind flow. The scientists say the e-whiskers could also be used to mediate tactile sensing for the spatial mapping of nearby objects. The could also lead to the development of new wearable sensors that measure heartbeat and pulse rate.
Javey says, "Our e-whiskers represent a new type of highly responsive tactile sensor networks for real time monitoring of environmental effects. 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."
E-whiskers also seem like a necessary component of any cat robot. They would be a great addition to MIT's Cheetah bot.
The research was published here in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.