Robotic Faces Covered with Living Human Skin

In a groundbreaking and slightly unsettling development, scientists have created a technique to attach living human skin to robotic faces. Beyond its sci-fi implications, this technology has practical potential.

Two years ago, Professor Shoji Takeuchi and his team at the University of Tokyo achieved a similar feat by covering a motorized robotic finger with bioengineered skin derived from live human cells.

Proof-of-Concept Targets Lifelike, Self-Healing Robots for Cosmetic Testing and Surgical Training

The hope was that this proof-of-concept could lead to not only more realistic, android-like robots but also robots with self-healing and touch-sensitive skin. This technology could also have applications in cosmetic testing and training for plastic surgeons.

Unlike Natural Skin, the Initial Skin-Covered Finger Wasn’t Integrated with the Underlying Structure

While Covering the Finger with Skin was Impressive, it Didn’t Integrate with the Underlying Digit, Unlike Natural Skin Connected to Muscle Tissue by Ligaments

This natural connection allows us to display various facial expressions effortlessly. Moreover, because the skin moves in harmony with the underlying tissue, it doesn’t hinder movement or bunch up, reducing the likelihood of damage from snagging on external objects.

Previous attempts by scientists to attach bioengineered skin to synthetic surfaces often involved tiny protruding anchors. These anchors, while functional, mar the skin’s smooth appearance and are ineffective on concave surfaces where they all converge towards the center.

Considering these challenges, Takeuchi and his team have recently devised a new method for anchoring skin using small V-shaped perforations in the synthetic surface.

Human Facial Mold Embedded with Perforations Coated with Collagen and Fibroblast Gel for Skin Production

The researchers fabricated a human facial mold embedded with an array of these perforations. They then coated the mold with a gel containing collagen and human dermal fibroblasts, which are responsible for producing connective tissue in the skin.

Some of the gel seeped into the perforations while the remainder remained on the mold’s surface. After seven days of culturing, the gel transformed into a layer of human skin securely anchored to the mold through the tissue within the perforations.

In another experiment, researchers perforated a silicone rubber substrate, applied the gel, and cultured it, producing a simplified human-skin face that smiled when they moved two connected rods.

Clearly, more development is required before this technology can be applied to create truly lifelike robots.

“We believe that achieving a thicker and more realistic skin will involve adding sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, fat, and nerves,” says Takeuchi. “Additionally, movement is critical, so another significant challenge is replicating humanlike expressions by incorporating advanced actuators or muscles within the robot.”

Read the original article on: New Atlas

Read more: Who’d Have Thought Robotic Bee Swarms Could be so Captivating?