A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) has developed a pressure-sensitive artificial e-skin which can be mounted on the skin that has lost functionality to recreate the sense of touch, sense pressure and can be stretched. 

The low-cost, biodegradable electronic skin mimics the functionality of the human skin in terms of sensing even minor pressure and strain variations and is based on natural rubber.

Made from natural rubber and carbon nano tube, the e-skin is an example of nanotechnology being used for durable and affordable health care in the country. Though the marking aspect of the e-skin has not been finalised, the initial response has been encouraging.

Professor Sushmee Badhulika, Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering was last week honoured with the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) Young Engineer Award in this connection.