It’s quite strange to see emotions in the fake human skin of these robots
Today’s study of robotics gave a giant leap that many did not see coming. With the support of technology and artificial intelligence, we have found that these types of studies lead us down a truly surprising path. Because of this, today there are incredibly fast robots and others with designs as futuristic as those from Boston Dynamics. Within this framework, we ask ourselves, what is left for further development? That they look human, something the Japanese studio seems to be addressing.
A step forward in research, but also in concern
A team of researchers led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi from the University of Tokyo has made a surprising but disturbing breakthrough in robotics and bioengineering. The group has developed a completely new method of integration human skin grown in a lab with robotic surfaces that open up new possibilities in various scientific and technological fields. This paves the way for bots to become a mix hybrids between purely robotic and purely biologicalbut the truth is that it makes him uncomfortable just to see it.
The Japanese team published an in-depth investigation in the journal Cell, one of the most respected for this type of study.
This new technique is based on creating V-shaped perforations on synthetic surfaces that act as anchor points for cultured skin tissue. The process begins with the application of a gel composed of collagen and human dermal fibroblasts to the facial mold prepared by these perforations. After seven days of cultivation, the result is a layer of human skin tightly adhered to the surface of the robot, as if it were a fusion of skin, muscles and ligaments.
The University of Tokyo has developed a method for attaching living, self-healing skin to robotic surfaces using perforation-type anchors inspired by the ligaments of human skin.
This breakthrough brings us closer to bio-hybrid robots that are adaptable and life-like. pic.twitter.com/S5nQ8LLTup
— Humanoid Hub (@TheHumanoidHub) June 27, 2024
The truth is that the team has been working on these technologies for several years. In 2022, he managed to cover a robotic finger with bioengineered skin. However, the real point at which everything changed is this they achieved a natural and functional integration of the skin with a robotic structure. So it looks like more and more to how skin works in humans as we have seen.
To prove that the method works correctly, the researchers conducted a second experiment using a silicone rubber substrate. They created a simplified facial model capable of simulating a smile, demonstrating the flexibility and adaptability of cultured skin to mechanical movements. They are on their way he made a truly disturbing expression and it looks like a deformed mass that used to be human. However, if we abstract ourselves and can break through the uncanny valley, we will find that this is a deeply interesting step forward for robotics and other fields.
To begin with, it is clear that it could help us to create more advanced Android bots, that seems pretty obvious, but there’s a lot more to it. For example, can be used in the cosmetic industry offers an advanced platform for product testing while ignoring the animal cruelty that some brands – not all – cause in order to conduct their studies. Those who are already vegan will be able to use much more advanced test models.
However, Takeuchi and his team acknowledge that there is still a way to go. The next step is to incorporate elements such as sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, adipose tissue and nerve endings to achieve an even more realistic skin. Something that is clear sounds even more futuristic and it could cause even more discomfort when he saw that it worked, but for what it seems there is a very long road ahead.
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