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About the episode
We humans use our sight and touch for many things without really thinking about it. Holding a cup for example, or… folding laundry.
It is much less obvious for robots. There is a huge amount of data involved in processing tactile feedback and most robots only work with visual information to determine where something is and how it should be manipulated.
Suppose that one day we want to have parts of the household, for example also in institutions, made by robots, they will need more than sight. To bend a corner of the hand, or pick up a shirt from a pile of clothes, the robot must be able to feel the difference between the layers of fabric.
Scientists have therefore developed an artificial skin that offers a kind of sensitive fingertip with which this is possible. The material is an elastic polymer containing magnetic particles. This is already used for picking up hard objects, but the cloth changes shape during picking and comes in all sorts of different types and thicknesses. There is a lot more to consider when folding.
The researchers have already managed to get the sensor to measure the number of layers the robot was holding and correct that number if necessary. Can we still let robots do our laundry? Not yet. But it is a step in that direction.
Read more: Robots that can sense layers of fabric could one day help with laundry.
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