(A) How a natural, biological afferent nerve is stimulated by pressure. (B) An artificial afferent nerve made of pressure sensors, an organic ring oscillator, and a synaptic transistor.
An international team of researchers reports the first known artificial nerve that can detect pressure—and even move the detached leg of a cockroach after the device was attached to the tissue. The authors suggest that similar sensors could one day incorporate into prosthetics to enable them to deliver touch information to users.