Robot skin senses warm bodies like a snake locating nearby prey | New Scientist

by Alex Kirkpatrick

21 January 2017

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A heat-sensing film could let robots detect when humans are around, like pit vipers hunting out warm-blooded prey. The flexible, transparent coating is made of pectin, a low-cost plant material used to set jam. Unlike conventional electronics, it relies on currents of ions rather than electrons to detect temperature variations – just like natural membranes used by the snakes.

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Alex Kirkpatrick is a passionate writer and science communicator...

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