User-interactive electronic skin can map the sense of touch through electronic readouts to provide visual output as a readable response. However, the high power consumption, complex structure and high cost of electronic skin is challenging for frugal practical applications. In a new report on Science Advances, Xuan Zhao, Zheng Zhang and colleagues in advanced metals, materials and engineering in China, reported a self-powered, user-interactive electronic skin named SUE-skin as a simple and cost-effective structure based on a triboelectric-optical model. The material converted touch stimuli into electrical signals to provide an instantaneously visible light at a trigger-pressure threshold as low as 20 kPa without an external power supply. The team linked the electronic skin with a microcontroller to build a programmable touch operation platform that recognized more than 156 interaction logics to seamlessly control consumer electronics. The cost-effective technology is relevant for gesture control, augmented reality, and intelligent prosthesis applications.