Flexible Electronic Circuits for Artificial Skin

(EPFL, June 07, 2013)

EPFL scientists have made flexible electronic circuit boards using foam substrates. Their experiments on various pliable materials showed that elastomeric foams are suitable platforms for circuit building, because air bubbles in an elastic matrix enable elasticity to be modulated. Moreover, metallic films on foam substrates can be reversibly stretched without disrupting their electrical conductivity properties. This discovery, reported in Advanced Materials, could enable deformable and stretchable circuits to be created. The team aims to make circuit boards that are flexible enough to be integrated into artificial skin. Foam-based metallic pathways could form electrodes, sensors or interconnections for electronic skin. Connected to the nervous system, these electronic circuits could become a true sense organ, allowing people to experience touch and pain.