This versatile and supersensitive skin could be the future of intelligent robotic systems that can detect hazardous chemical leaks or ecological dangers before humans catch notice. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Science Robotics, the flexible synthetic skin is imbued with an array of chemical sensors that each sense a unique stimuli. Researchers at Caltech have created an electronic skin that can pick up pressure and temperature but also sense chemicals like TNT and viruses like COVID. Our future robotic overlords may be closer to acquiring a human-like sense of touch, but they’re also closer to moving beyond that-and attaining a superhuman ability to sense and interact with their environment.