New electronic skin brings self-healing sensors to underwater robots and divers

Underwater environments are among the harshest operating conditions for electronic devices. Divers and underwater robots depend on sensors to navigate, communicate and handle objects, but conventional sensors are fragile, reliant on an external power source and unable to recover when damaged. A punctured sensor underwater typically means lost functionality with little prospect of on-the-spot repair, a limitation that shortens the working life of underwater machines and raises safety concerns for divers.