Stretchable Sensor Mesh Could Act as Strong, Smart Skin for Planes, Cars and Robots

By Rebecca Boyle Posted 09.24.2010 at 3:56 pm 1 Comment

Spiderweb via Flickr/ foxypar4 (CC licensed)

A new flexible mesh can envelop airplanes, cars and other devices in a spidery cloak of sensors, designed to act as a network of nerves warning a machine of stress and damage.

Taking a cue from super-thin, super-strong spiderwebs, Stanford researchers designed a matrix of sensors that can wrap around an aircraft or other piece of machinery. The sensors can connect to a computer, warning a pilot or driver about any cracks or strains in the machine before they cause serious damage or injury.

Stanford scientist Fu-Kuo Chang explains that the mesh is intended to give airplanes a sensory mechanism like that of birds. Using radar and communications, airplanes can see and hear, but they can’t feel, he says — unlike a bird, which would feel pain, a plane would not be able to detect strain on its joints during an aerobatic dive.

The mesh involves a system of lightweight gold sensors placed on a plastic polymer sheet, as Discovery News explains. The sheet can stretch and expand to more than 265 times its normal size, causing the material to resemble a giant spiderweb. Chang says one square foot of the material could stretch far enough cover an entire car.

The material could be used for a wide range of purposes, including synthetic robot skin, smart wound dressings or even clothing for pregnant women that would allow them to see their unborn children.

[Discovery News]

Previous Article: Headlines From 2020: Newest Hairwasher-Z Robot Recalled After Tragic Beheadings

Next Article: Video: Using New Learning Algorithm, Archer 'Bot Learns How To Aim and Shoot A Bow and Arrow

1 Comment

Popular Tags

Technology

All Tags All Photos All Videos

Technology

+ More Photo Galleries

June 2013: American Energy Independence

Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.