Hasta La Gadget!

See the above robot? He was programmed to feel pain. Doesn’t look like he’s enjoy himself, does he? This is the direction we’re moving in however. Scientists at the University of California are working on something they have named “e-skin.” The stuff uses crystalline silicon, making the artificial skin touch-sensitive.

Can screaming fiery robots be far behind?

We’re probably jumping the gun here. Messing with machines isn’t actually on the researchers’ plates for the time being. At the moment, the main goal of the new technology is the ability for machine to distinguish the fragility of objects.

“Humans generally know how to hold a fragile egg without breaking it,” UC Berkley professor Ali Javey, said in statement. “If we ever wanted a robot that could unload the dishes, for instance, we’d want to make sure it doesn’t break the wine glasses in the process. But we’d also want the robot to be able to grip a stock pot without dropping it.”

It’s about time we got a dish washing robot that doesn’t totally suck at its job. What, after all, are restaurant owners supposed to do when robotic diners can’t pay the bill?

Also on the proverbial plate is the possibility of adding sensitivity to prosthetic limbs, though, in order to achieve that, the skin would have to be fused to nerve endings.