A laboratory at the Technion. Photo: Technion.

JNS.org – Israeli researchers at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa have created a new, flexible material that is sensitive to touch and can heal itself automatically if there is damage within 10-30 minutes, according to research published in the Advanced Materials journal.

The material is described as electronic skin with sensors that can simulate human skin in its ability to respond to pressure and heat, even monitoring a person’s health while attached to them.

“The self-repair function can occur in any part of the material, so anywhere that the platform is ‘injured,’ it can renew itself. This way full repair can take place while it continues to function under varying temperatures, pressure and while exposed to volatile particles,” Prof. Hossam Haick, head of one of the labs at Technion, said.

Researchers found that this platform only lost less than 10 percent of sensitivity after half a year of functioning, even with random damage made in experiments.