New technology using engineered living skin tissue and humanlike ligaments has allowed researchers at the Tokyo University to give robots a more natural smile.
Professor Shoji Takeuchi said: “In this study, we managed to replicate human appearance to some extent by creating a face with the same surface material and structure as humans.” He added, “in the process we identified new challenges, such as the necessity for surface wrinkles and a thicker epidermis to achieve a more humanlike appearance.”
This new process will allow robots to become more lifelike and researchers say that in the future, similar techniques could also be used on humans, in the cosmetics and plastic surgery industries.
To overlay and connect the lab-produced skin on a robotic skeleton, a layer of collagen gel containing cultured human dermal fibroblasts (a type of connective tissue cell) binds to an innovative system of tiny V-shaped perforations in the surface, letting the skin move with the underlying structure without tearing or peeling. Actuators are used to work the muscles and create the smile.
The Biohybrid Systems Laboratory has already engineered skin that can heal and created small robots with biological muscle tissue. Takeuchi says the latest work on living skin could lead to a lot more in the future.
“Self-healing is a big deal — some chemical-based materials can be made to heal themselves, but they require triggers such as heat, pressure or other signals, and they also do not proliferate like cells,” he said. “Biological skin repairs minor lacerations as ours does, and nerves and other skin organs can be added for use in sensing and so on.”
The researchers said it is essential for robots to be able to heal and self-repair, because even small scratches could develop into serious impairments.
Takeuchi said biomimetic robots could become even more lifelike with thicker skin, and future projects could include adding sensors, pores, fat and even sweat glands. The team’s research could also highlight how human wrinkles are formed. By incorporating more sophisticated actuators and eventually, cultured muscle tissue, this approach could help robots move more like humans in the future.
