Researchers from the University of Tokyo announced their discovery this week, along with a video showing a sticky pink material being stretched into a smile.
The study published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science revealed that scientists utilized a type of “cell-filled gel that forms skin” to create a “robot covered with living skin.”
Experts in bio-robotics hope that one day this technology will contribute to the invention of robots that look and function like humans.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo used “cell-filled gel that forms skin” to create the robot. (Photo: X).
The research team, led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi, stated: “We also hope this will shed more light on wrinkle formation and the physiology of facial expressions,” while aiding the development of implant materials and cosmetics.
This new material could signal a shift away from traditional humanoid robots covered with lifelike skin made of silicone rubber, which cannot sweat or self-heal.
The scientists’ goal is to provide robots with the self-healing capabilities inherent in biological skin, but they have yet to achieve this.
In previous studies, scientists grafted collagen onto cuts in the artificial skin of laboratory robots to demonstrate its self-healing ability. However, they noted that conducting similar healing experiments on their smiling robot’s skin “is a challenge for the future.”
To give the robot a “natural smile,” researchers gelled skin-like tissue and fixed it into the robot’s pores, a method inspired by real human skin ligaments.
