Pain demands to be felt as the maxim goes. Pain may not be pleasant, but it’s essential for survival. A complex shield device, pain is our body’s way of telling us that something’s wrong and that we should take an instant reaction to avoid destruction. Skin is the body’s biggest organ. It can cause pain-avoiding reactions involuntarily through reflexes, for example when we touch something hot.

At this moment, experts at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, have created a synthetic skin that copies this device and responds to pain stimuli. They applied silicone rubber to make it; it has the sense of actual skin and is also very equal to the skin in its features, mentions Madhu Bhaskaran, an engineering professor at RMIT University and the project’s head researcher. She added that it could start innovative developments in robotics and prosthetics.

Comparable to the actual skin, the synthetic version is made to react when pressure, heat or cold exceed a pain threshold. Its surface layers sandwich electronic circuits studded with sensors, which react to stimuli. According to Bhaskaran, the fascinating thing about our body is that it works by transmitting electrical signs into the central nervous system. Electronic circuits do the same way, and are just as sharp, she explains.