"Synthetic Skin" Could Lead to Advanced Prosthetic Limbs Capable of Returning
  Sense of Touch to Amputees
From: Medical Design Technology - 03/24/2017

Engineers from the University of Glasgow, who have previously developed an
"electronic skin" covering for prosthetic hands made from graphene, have
found a way to use some of graphene's remarkable physical properties to use
energy from the sun to power the skin.

Dr. Dahiya, from the University of Glasgow's School of Engineering, says,
"Human skin is an incredibly complex system capable of detecting pressure,
temperature and texture through an array of neural sensors which carry
signals from the skin to the brain. My colleagues and I have already made
significant steps in creating prosthetic prototypes which integrate synthetic
skin and are capable of making very sensitive pressure measurements. Those
measurements mean the prosthetic hand is capable of performing challenging
tasks like properly gripping soft materials, which other prosthetics can
struggle with. We are also using innovative 3D printing strategies to build
more affordable sensitive prosthetic limbs, including the formation of a very
active student club called 'Helping Hands'. Skin capable of touch sensitivity
also opens the possibility of creating robots capable of making better
decisions about human safety. A robot working on a construction line, for
example, is much less likely to accidentally injure a human if it can feel
that a person has unexpectedly entered their area of movement and stop before
an injury can occur."

Read the entire article at:
https://www.mdtmag.com/news/2017/03/synthetic-skin-could-lead-advanced-prosthetic-limbs-capable-returning-sense-touch-amputees