Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera
Tokyo, Japan: Scientists in Japan made a major breakthrough by attaching self-healing living skin to robot face, breaking the ground for more realistic humanoids in the future, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
Footage showed scientists, led by professor Shoji Takeuchi at the University of Tokyo’s Biohybrid Systems Laboratory, creating smile on robot face without causing tissue to tear, bunch or get it stuck in place.
They connected cultured skin tissue to what the report said an actuator, which is an external mechanical device, using “anchors” that act like skin ligaments.
This comes as previous attempt to attach tissue made from human cells to solid surface caused skin damage when in motion.
However, Takeuchi’s blob bears resemble children’s cartoon characters, not human face.
Researchers however hope that this will lead to realistic humanoids in the future.
Takeuchi told Al Jazeera that the skin the team developed aims to ‘ replicate’ biological functions of human skin like the activities of ‘facial muscles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, fat, and nerves.’
This possibility may lead to more lifelike and interactive robotic applications in the future.
These advances will create a societal revolution where humans will live alongside humanoids, looking and acting like real people.
The living skin, according to the report, will help robots emote and better communicate with humans thus blurring the line between ‘homo sapiens and machines’.
However, Takeuchi’s team at Tokyo University is still in the ‘embryonic stages’ of their work, according to the report.
They are working on developing mini robots that walk ‘using biological muscle tissue and 3D printed lab-grown meat’ alongside research is underway into ‘artificial cell membranes, neural networks and implantable devices’.