By SHOKO TAMAKI/ Staff Writer
July 18, 2024 at 07:00 JST
In a scientific breakthrough out of a Philip K. Dick novel, researchers from the University of Tokyo have brought a smile to the face of a bio-hybrid robot with living, lab-grown skin.
The scientists announced on June 26 that they have developed a technique to bind living tissue to an inorganic frame, like ligaments beneath the skin. This allows the small, pink robotic face to move three-dimensionally, lifting its cheeks in an eerie smile.
According to the team, this development brings androids—humanoid robots—one step closer to being a reality.
“The completion of a binding structure that cannot be seen from the outside marks a big step forward in our quest to create robots that look just like humans,” said Shoji Takeuchi, a machine engineering professor at the University of Tokyo, who is part of the team.
“We want to create sweat glands, pores, blood vessels and other features to improve our skin’s quality and fuse it with muscles to realize changes in expression as well,” Takeuchi said.
The team has been working to create a bio-hybrid android with living skin cultivated from human cells and previously developed a robotic finger with skin that could heal itself when injured.
However, the robot’s skin was connected to its mechanical frame by a series of anchors, which protruded from the skin as the robot moved, destroying the human-like illusion.
To re-create smooth, realistic facial expressions, the team worked to replicate human “skin ligaments”—mesh-like, fibrous collagen structures that lie under the dermis skin layer, connecting skin to fasciae and bone.
To achieve this effect on a robotic body, multiple V-shaped holes were drilled into the robot’s surface and a solution containing dermal cells was applied to the holes.
The skin tissue then gelled and hardened in the holes, binding the robot body and the cultured skin together, as human skin ligaments would.
Moving these adhesive ligaments causes the corners of the robot’s mouth to rise in an unmistakable, if uncanny, smile.
To increase the variety of robot expressions, the number of adhesive holes on its face must be increased.
However, the smaller the hole, the more difficult it becomes for the solution to seep in and bind properly—this is the team’s next challenge to overcome.
The team’s findings have been published in the academic journal Cell Reports Physical Science at (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2024.102066).
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A recently developed robotic face has a specialized adhesive structure connecting its inorganic body to living skin, allowing for smooth, articulated movement. (Provided by Shoji Takeuchi, a machine engineering professor at the University of Tokyo)
