Robotics
Researchers at the University of Bristol have recently trained a deep-neural-network-based model to gather tactile information about 3-D objects. In their paper, published in IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, they applied ...
Robotics
To effectively interact with their surrounding environment, robots should be able to identify characteristics of different objects just by touching them, like humans do. This would allow them to get hold of and manage objects ...
Robotics
Smart, stretchable and highly sensitive, a new soft sensor developed by UBC and Honda researchers opens the door to a wide range of applications in robotics and prosthetics.
Oct 26, 2023
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201
Robotics
We tend to take our sense of touch for granted in everyday settings, but it is vital for our ability to interact with our surroundings. Imagine reaching into the fridge to grab an egg for breakfast. As your fingers touch ...
Jun 2, 2022
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222
Engineering
User-interactive electronic skin can map the sense of touch through electronic readouts to provide visual output as a readable response. However, the high power consumption, complex structure and high cost of electronic skin ...
Engineering
As our body's largest and most prominent organ, the skin also provides one of our most fundamental connections to the world around us. From the moment we're born, it is intimately involved in every physical interaction we ...
Apr 15, 2020
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204
Engineering
Imagine holding hands with a loved one on the other side of the world. Or feeling a pat on the back from a teammate in the online game "Fortnite."
Nov 20, 2019
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220
Engineering
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed electronic "stickers" that measure the force exerted by one object upon another. The force stickers are wireless, run without batteries and fit in tight spaces. ...
Oct 10, 2023
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114
Engineering
Human skin is amazing. It senses temperature, pressure, and texture. It's able to stretch and spring back, time and again. And it provides a barrier between the body and external threats—bacteria, viruses, toxins, ultraviolet ...
Jun 1, 2023
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58
Engineering
Sensing a hug from each other via the internet may be a possibility in the near future. A research team led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently developed a wireless, soft e-skin that can both detect and deliver ...
Feb 23, 2023
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50
The somatosensory system is a diverse sensory system comprising the receptors and processing centres to produce the sensory modalities such as touch, temperature, proprioception (body position), and nociception (pain). The sensory receptors cover the skin and epithelia, skeletal muscles, bones and joints, internal organs, and the cardiovascular system. While touch is considered one of the five traditional senses, the impression of touch is formed from several modalities; In medicine, the colloquial term touch is usually replaced with somatic senses to better reflect the variety of mechanisms involved.
The system reacts to diverse stimuli using different receptors: thermoreceptors, mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors. Transmission of information from the receptors passes via sensory nerves through tracts in the spinal cord and into the brain. Processing primarily occurs in the primary somatosensory area in the parietal lobe of the cerebral cortex.
At its simplest, the system works when a sensory neuron is triggered by a specific stimulus such as heat; this neuron passes to an area in the brain uniquely attributed to that area on the body—this allows the processed stimulus to be felt at the correct location. The mapping of the body surfaces in the brain is called a homunculus and is essential in the creation of a body image.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
