A Bio-Hybrid Robot Smiles with Lab-Grown Skin
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have achieved a significant milestone in the development of realistic androids. They have successfully bound living, lab-grown skin to a robotic face, enabling it to produce a three-dimensional smile. This breakthrough brings us closer to a future where androids are indistinguishable from humans.
The team, led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi, has been working on creating a bio-hybrid android with living skin cultivated from human cells. Previously, they developed a robotic finger with self-healing skin. However, the skin was connected to the mechanical frame by anchors that protruded and disrupted the illusion of human-like movement.
To overcome this challenge, the researchers replicated human skin ligaments, fibrous structures that connect the skin to underlying tissues. They drilled V-shaped holes into the robot's face and applied a solution containing dermal cells. The skin tissue gelled and hardened in the holes, binding the robot body and the cultured skin together, mimicking the natural connection in humans.
This innovation allows the robot to move its facial muscles and produce a realistic smile. The team aims to increase the variety of expressions by adding more adhesive holes. However, they face the challenge of ensuring proper binding with smaller holes.
This research, published in Cell Reports Physical Science, marks a significant step towards creating androids that look and behave just like humans. It opens up exciting possibilities for the future of human-robot interaction.