Prosthetic Skin to Sense Wind, Rain, and Ants

Could you perceive the touch of an ant's antenna on your fingertip? This new tactile sensor can, and its inventors report that it could one day be integrated into prostheses to give wearers a superhuman sense of touch. The sensor converts pressure from touch to electric signals that, theoretically, could be perceived by the brain. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Ningbo, Zhenhai, described their invention yesterday in the journal Science Robotics. There have been a lot of touch sensors described in the literature, but this one's sensitivity is off the charts.