Design and Fabrication of Soft Artificial Skin Using Embedded Microchannels and Liquid Conductors

We describe the design, fabrication, and calibration of a highly compliant artificial skin sensor. The sensor consists of multilayered mircochannels in an elastomer matrix filled with a conductive liquid, capable of detecting multiaxis strains and contact pressure. A novel manufacturing method comprised of layered molding and casting processes is demonstrated to fabricate the multilayered soft sensor circuit. Silicone rubber layers with channel patterns, cast with 3-D printed molds, are bonded to create embedded microchannels, and a conductive liquid is injected into the microchannels. The channel dimensions are 200 μm (width) × 300 μm (height). The size of the sensor is 25 mm × 25 mm, and the thickness is…