"Self-Healing Robot Skin Mimics Human Functionality, Scientists Say"
Scientists at Stanford University have developed a self-healing synthetic skin made of silicone and polypropylene glycol materials that stretch like human skin without tearing, while magnetic properties allow the skin to self-align. The skin could lead to 'reconfigurable soft robots that can change shape and sense their deformation on demand,' ultimately transforming warfare. The team demonstrated how the stretchy skin works by placing three broken pieces of the robot on a table. In moments the pieces began to move toward each other and re-aligned into one piece. The long-term vision of the skin is to create devices that can recover from extreme damage.