By developing a printing technique for high-mobility materials such as silicon, he will obtain high-performance electronics at a low cost base.

This research will also use the state-of-the- art nanofabrication tools in the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre at the University of Glasgow.

"Interfacing the multidisciplinary fields of robotics and nanotechnology, this research on ultra-flexible tactile skin will open up whole new areas within both robotics and nanotechnology," Dahiya said.

"So far, robotics research has focused on using dexterous hands, but if the whole body of a robot is covered with skin, it will be able to carry out tasks like lifting an elderly person. In the nanotechnology field, it will be a new paradigm whereby nanoscale structures are used not for nanoscale electronics, but for macroscale bendable electronics system," he said.

"This research will also provide a much-needed electronics engineering perspective to the field of flexible electronics," he added.

His research is aligned with wider work on flexible electronics — the creation of bendable pieces of technology that will replace the flat screen computer or tablet.

In future, Dahiya said, mobile phones will be more like a wristband, providing far more information than currently, such as carrying out health monitoring.

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