As in the movie "Alien": Japanese scientists have created a robot with human skin. Impressive photos and videos
In sci-fi movies like Alien, humanoid robots are so realistic that they are almost indistinguishable from real people. And now, experts at the University of Tokyo have created a robotic face from human skin grown in a laboratory.
According to the scientists, robots with real skin not only look "increasingly realistic" but can also heal themselves if damaged. The research was led by University of Tokyo professor Shoji Takeuchi and is described in detail in a new study in Cell Reports Physical Science.
Prof. Takeuchi's lab has already created mini-robots that walk using biological muscle tissue, 3D-printed meat grown in the lab, and engineered skin that can heal, MailOnline reports.
"We were able to recreate the human appearance to some extent by creating a face with the same material and surface structure as humans," said Professor Takeuchi.
Experts made special perforations in the robot's face that helped the skin layer to attach.
Source: cell.com
"Engineered skin tissue" is made by taking a sample of human skin cells and growing them in a laboratory - similar to how cultured meat is produced.
"These human skin cells are mostly harvested from excess skin from surgeries. The cultured skin has the same composition as human skin and is also used as a graft material for people with serious burns or injuries," explains study co-author Michio Kawai of Harvard University.
Conceptual illustration of the method of tissue fixation using a perforated anchor.
Source: cell.com
While developing living skin from cell cultures has its challenges, the most difficult was attaching the skin to the robot's face, which is made of acrylic resin. Previous methods included mini-anchors or hooks, but these limited the types of surfaces that could be applied to the skin coatings and could be damaged during movement. So instead, the team used a special collagen gel for adhesion and made special perforations in their robot's face, helping the layer of lab-grown skin to attach.
Demonstration of perforation-type attachments to cover a facial device with the equivalent of skin.
Source: cell.com
Here is a rather creepy video showing a bizarre pink creature trying to smile.
There is still a long way to go before humanoid robots resemble us, but Professor Takeuchi and his colleagues believe that living skin can provide robots with a number of new abilities.
Robots with skin on their faces boast self-healing capabilities, built-in sensory abilities, and "an increasingly realistic appearance."
"This study presents an approach to attaching and activating skin equivalents using perforation-type anchors, which could potentially contribute to advances in biohybrid robotics," they say in their article.
"Unlike other self-healing materials that require heat or pressure to induce adhesion on cut surfaces, the skin equivalent can regenerate defects through cellular proliferation without any triggers."
The next challenge will be to create a range of human facial expressions by integrating complex muscle-like actuators inside the robot.
Earlier, OBOZ.UA told about the menu of the future. To find out, scientists used the Midjourney artificial intelligence tool. The AI is sure that in 2054 we will eat insect salads, meat from the laboratory, and spaghetti from ferns and call them "superfoods".
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