In a breakthrough that’s not at all creepy, scientists have devised a way to fasten living human skin to a robot’s face. This technology could actually have several valuable applications beyond creating a following. Westworld– The same scenario becomes reality.
Two years ago, Professor Shoji Takeuchi and colleagues at the University of Tokyo succeeded in covering motorized robotic fingers with bionic skin made from living human cells.
It was hoped that this proof-of-concept activity could pave the way for more life-like android-like robots, as well as robots with self-healing, touch-sensitive coverings. This technology can also be used for cosmetic testing and training of plastic surgeons.
©2022 Takeuchi et al.
The skin-covered fingers were certainly an impressive achievement, but the skin wasn’t connected to the native fingers in any way. It was basically a constricted flap that wrapped around the finger. In contrast, natural human facial skin is connected to the underlying muscle tissue by ligaments made of connective tissue.
Above all, this arrangement allows us to express a variety of facial expressions. Moreover, while moving with The underlying tissue does not cause the skin to clump together and impede facial movement. For the same reason, there is less chance of it being damaged by foreign objects.
Scientists have previously attempted to connect bioengineered skin to synthetic surfaces, usually via small anchors that protrude upward. from its surface. However, these pocky anchors can damage the appearance of your skin, making it look less smooth. They also don’t work well on concave surfaces that are all oriented toward the center.
With these limitations in mind, Takeuchi and his team recently developed a novel skin fixation system based on small V-shaped perforations made in a synthetic surface.
©2024 Takeuchi et al. CC-BY-ND
The scientists created a cast of a human face incorporating an array of these perforations and then coated the cast with a gel composed of collagen and human skin fibroblasts. The latter are the cells responsible for creating connective tissue in the skin.
Some of the gel will flow out into the perforations and the rest will stay on the mold surface. After 7 days of incubation, the gel formed into a covering of human skin that was firmly anchored to the fungus through the tissue within the perforation.
In the second experiment, perforations were made in a silicone rubber substrate, then gel was applied and incubated. The end result was a simplified human skin face that could smile by moving two rods connected to a substrate.
©2024 Takeuchi et al. CC-BY-ND
Needless to say, some work still needs to be done before this technology can be utilized in realistic robots.
“We believe that by integrating sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, fat and nerves, we can create thicker, more realistic skin,” says Takeuchi. “Of course, not only the material but also the movement is an important factor. Therefore, another important challenge is to integrate sophisticated actuators, or muscles, inside the robot to create human-like expressions.”
A paper on the study was recently published in the journal. cell report physical science.
Source: University of Tokyo
