In one of the most remarkable moments of the Star Wars saga, Luke Skywalker loses his hand in a lightsaber duel against Darth Vader, who is, are you ready for this, his father. His hand gets replaced by a bionic prosthesis capable of sensing external stimuli and little by little, this technology gets closer to being a reality.
According to reports by the Reuters website, scientists from a laboratory in Singapore are working on the development of a device called ACES, which stands for “Asynchronous Coded Electronic Skin.” It is a material that, in its current form, includes 100 sensors and a square centimeter in size.
According to Benjamin Tee, ACES can process details faster than the human central nervous system, while recognizing dozens of textures and can even read braille with 90% greater accuracy. The goal is to produce artificial skin so that people who use prostheses can detect objects, textures, temperatures and even pain.
In an interview with the website, Benjamin Tee pointed out that the main inspiration behind the new technology was Luke Skywalker’s bionic hand, first seen in the fifth installment of the space saga, The Empire Strikes Back. He further emphasized:
“So humans need to slide to feel texture, but in this case the skin, with just a single touch, is able to detect textures of different roughness. When you lose your sense of touch, you essentially become numb… and prosthetic users face that problem,” said research team leader Benjamin Tee. “So by recreating an artificial version of the skin, for their prosthetic devices, they can hold a hand and feel the warmth and feel that it is soft, how hard are they holding the hand.”
Scientists have also registered patents for transparent skin, capable of repairing itself if it is torn, and also for a new substance capable of emitting light.
