It’s the face of the long run.
A team of scientists unveiled a robot face covered with a fragile layer of living skin that heals itself and crinkles right into a smile in hopes of developing more human-like cyborgs.
The skin was made in a lab on the University of Tokyo from a combination of human skin cells grown on a collagen model and placed on top of a 3D-printed resin base, the Latest Scientist reported.
Scientists on the project — who published their findings in Cell Reports Physical Science on Tuesday — imagine the living skin could possibly be a key step in creating robots that heal and feel like humans.
“This living skin could be particularly useful for robots that interact closely with humans, equivalent to health care, service, companion and humanoid robots, where human-like functions are needed,” Professor Shoji Takeuchi told the Times of London.
The lab-grown skin has been attached to an easy, tiny robot face that’s able to smiling — and the tissue can heal itself.
“The skin can repair itself if damaged, much like how human skin heals wounds,” Takeuchi explained.
“And integrating sensory functions like touch and temperature detection is more feasible with living tissue.”
The skin’s dermal cells were cultured first, and the epidermal cells were then added on top to finish the structure, he added.
The skin was attached to the robot face using what Michio Kawai of Harvard University described to the Latest Scientist as “perforation-type anchors” that perforate the resin base and create small cavities for the tissue to fill in.
The perforations are literally the equivalent of the flexible, strong ligaments that humans and animals have beneath their skin, Takeuchi told the Times of London.
“It creates a smooth, strong bond between the skin and the robot … The natural flexibility of the skin and the strong approach to adhesion mean the skin can move with the mechanical components of the robot without tearing or peeling away,” he noted.
While the lab-grown skin still doesn’t resemble actual human skin very closely, Takeuchi said the newest work continues to be crucial.
“We’ve identified latest challenges, equivalent to the need for surface wrinkles and a thicker epidermis to realize a more human-like appearance,” he said.
“We imagine that making a thicker and more realistic skin could be achieved by incorporating sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, fat and nerves.”
The skin’s capabilities even have surprising implications for the cosmetics industry, Kawai told the Latest Scientist.
When scientists made the robot smile for one month, they found that the tissue replicated the looks of expression wrinkles within the skin, he said.
“Having the ability to recreate wrinkle formation on a palm-sized laboratory chip can concurrently be used to check latest cosmetics and skincare products that aim to forestall, delay or improve wrinkle formation,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the experts are back within the lab.
“It could take as much as 10 years of research and development before living skin could be utilized by robots that interact with people frequently,” Takeuchi said.
“Nevertheless, we’re making progress, and with continued efforts, this vision could grow to be a reality inside the following decade.”
It’s the face of the long run.
A team of scientists unveiled a robot face covered with a fragile layer of living skin that heals itself and crinkles right into a smile in hopes of developing more human-like cyborgs.
The skin was made in a lab on the University of Tokyo from a combination of human skin cells grown on a collagen model and placed on top of a 3D-printed resin base, the Latest Scientist reported.
Scientists on the project — who published their findings in Cell Reports Physical Science on Tuesday — imagine the living skin could possibly be a key step in creating robots that heal and feel like humans.
“This living skin could be particularly useful for robots that interact closely with humans, equivalent to health care, service, companion and humanoid robots, where human-like functions are needed,” Professor Shoji Takeuchi told the Times of London.
The lab-grown skin has been attached to an easy, tiny robot face that’s able to smiling — and the tissue can heal itself.
“The skin can repair itself if damaged, much like how human skin heals wounds,” Takeuchi explained.
“And integrating sensory functions like touch and temperature detection is more feasible with living tissue.”
The skin’s dermal cells were cultured first, and the epidermal cells were then added on top to finish the structure, he added.
The skin was attached to the robot face using what Michio Kawai of Harvard University described to the Latest Scientist as “perforation-type anchors” that perforate the resin base and create small cavities for the tissue to fill in.
The perforations are literally the equivalent of the flexible, strong ligaments that humans and animals have beneath their skin, Takeuchi told the Times of London.
“It creates a smooth, strong bond between the skin and the robot … The natural flexibility of the skin and the strong approach to adhesion mean the skin can move with the mechanical components of the robot without tearing or peeling away,” he noted.
While the lab-grown skin still doesn’t resemble actual human skin very closely, Takeuchi said the newest work continues to be crucial.
“We’ve identified latest challenges, equivalent to the need for surface wrinkles and a thicker epidermis to realize a more human-like appearance,” he said.
“We imagine that making a thicker and more realistic skin could be achieved by incorporating sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, fat and nerves.”
The skin’s capabilities even have surprising implications for the cosmetics industry, Kawai told the Latest Scientist.
When scientists made the robot smile for one month, they found that the tissue replicated the looks of expression wrinkles within the skin, he said.
“Having the ability to recreate wrinkle formation on a palm-sized laboratory chip can concurrently be used to check latest cosmetics and skincare products that aim to forestall, delay or improve wrinkle formation,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the experts are back within the lab.
“It could take as much as 10 years of research and development before living skin could be utilized by robots that interact with people frequently,” Takeuchi said.
“Nevertheless, we’re making progress, and with continued efforts, this vision could grow to be a reality inside the following decade.”
