Patent ID: 8159235

Claim:
A method for sensing a stimulus, said method comprising: providing a solid sensing skin having a first structure and a second structure, said first structure being made of a material different than said second structure, each of said first structure and said second structure being of nanoscale; disposing said solid sensing skin upon a spatial area; exposing said solid sensing skin to the stimulus thereby producing a physical change in said solid sensing skin; employing electrical impedance tomography (EIT) to generate a spatial mapping of electrical properties of said solid sensing skin as a result of said physical change, said electrical impedance tomography being based on at least five electrodes coupled to said solid sensing skin with electrical current being applied to at least a pair of said electrodes and voltage measured on at least some of the remaining electrodes, said electrical properties including at least one of conductivity, impedance, and reactance; and analyzing said spatial mapping to determine at least one of location and severity of the stimulus.