Researchers from the University of Tokyo have made a significant breakthrough in the field of robotics by developing a technique to bind living tissue to an inorganic frame. This advancement brings androids, or humanoid robots, one step closer to becoming a reality.
The team has been working to create a bio-hybrid android with living skin cultivated from human cells. They previously developed a robotic finger with skin that could heal itself when injured. However, the robot's skin was connected to its mechanical frame by a series of anchors, which protruded from the skin as the robot moved, destroying the human-like illusion.
To overcome this challenge, the researchers worked to replicate human "skin ligaments" - mesh-like, fibrous collagen structures that lie under the dermis skin layer, connecting skin to fasciae and bone. They achieved this effect on a robotic body by drilling multiple V-shaped holes into the robot's surface and applying a solution containing dermal cells to the holes.
The skin tissue then gelled and hardened in the holes, binding the robot body and the cultured skin together, as human skin ligaments would. Moving these adhesive ligaments causes the corners of the robot's mouth to rise in an unmistakable, if uncanny, smile.
The team's findings have been published in the academic journal Cell Reports Physical Science. They plan to increase the number of adhesive holes on the robot's face to increase the variety of expressions it can make. However, they face the challenge of ensuring the solution seeps in and binds properly in smaller holes.