A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota engineered 3D printing technology that could lead to the printing of electronics directly on human skin, as well as give robots the sense of touch.

TUN spoke with Dr. Michael McAlpine, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota and lead researcher of this study, to gain insight on the project.

The “original purpose was to extend the capabilities of 3D printing well beyond the limited selection of hard plastics in commercial printers,” said McAlpine.

The 3D printer is revolutionary. It is constructed with four nozzles that print a layer of silicone, a layer of electrodes made of conducting ink, a spiral-shaped layer that serves as a pressure sensor, and a protective top layer that mocks the epidermis and keeps everything set in place, until it is deteriorated in the final steps of manufacturing. This creates a stretchable artificial-fabric replication of skin.  

This touch-sensitive false skin has a long list of possibilities, but an immediate result is the application of the skin on robots.

This bionic skin gives robots a sense of touch, which enhances the capabilities of robotic surgery. Currently, cameras are used for surgery, but the introduction of touch, as a robotic function, will eliminate the need for cameras.

“These sensors could also make it easier for other robots to walk and interact with their environment,” McAlpine said in a statement.

This project has much room to grow. McAlpine told TUN that he and his team of four graduate students have high aspirations for the potential of this 3D printer.

The next step is to continue to develop our printing processes and palette of functional materials, and understand better how to integrate these materials into more complex devices and on a variety of surfaces, including biological surfaces such as a real human hand.

The 3D printer has not yet been tested on a real human hand, but attempts had been made on a model hand using the technique.

“We also interfaced a printed device with the skin and were surprised that the device was so sensitive that it could detect your pulse in real time,” said McAlpine in a statement.

The use of artificial skin on the human hand will be able to aid humans monitor health and serve as a tool for soldiers to detect dangerous chemicals and explosives.

“We have a multifunctional printer that can print several layers to make these flexible sensory devices,” said McAlpine in a statement.

“This could take us into so many directions from health monitoring to energy harvesting to chemical sensing.”

The integration of biological and electronic materials has increasing relevance in modern society with 3D printers, such as this one, serving as pioneers for the infusion of man and machine. Their capabilities are limitless.

“We think the ability to 3D print a variety of functional materials and devices will be a major tool of the 21st century, on par with the computer revolution of the 20th century in terms of impact and effect on society. This will affect biology, electronics, and bionics,” McAlpine told TUN.