DIY Conductive Rubber Robot Touch Skin - (Instructable)

[Keith Mc]

I just saw a rather interesting Instructable, for a DIY conductive robot
skin that will react no matter where you touch it:
... http://www.instructables.com/id/Conductive-Rubber-Make-Touch-Sensitive-Robot-Skin/

The author suggests that this may be Printable. <Hmmm...>

Personally, I'm interested in creating robot bumpers and skins
that are not only touch sensitive, but indicate WHERE it was touched.
(Ex: Designing skirt bumpers, and effector/arm coverings that can
reliably indicate pressure and/or press direction at a decent resolution
is a very common problem in adaptive action robotics.)

I would think a tweak on this design with conductive XY trace layers
behind the surface skin would accomplish that. In fact, given a
multi-material 3D printer, this could potentially be printed as well
by simply digitally alternating insulating rubber and conductive rubber
on each layer as you print, or adding metal layers. You then attach
the printed result to a mylar PCB, to bring out the traces to your
circuitry (or simply print out that metal trace layer as well... :-).

BTW... Hybridizing single print layers is now being called "Digital Materials".
This is where you combine multiple materials in your printed object,
via either a ratio blending, or alternating them at a pixel by pixel basis.
A great example is the Objet 3D Printer IR Remote Handset Shell demo.
While printing the case, it also combines elasomers and solid plastics
in varying ratios at 600DPI to create "bubble buttons" with a totally
programmable "toggle stiffness" in the same layer as the case.

Anyway... Has anyone here ever attempted making (or printing)
something similar to the above conductive robot skin?
If so, what did you do, and how well did it work?

- Keith Mc.