Living Skin On Robot Faces: Researchers at Tokyo University of Japan have discovered a new way to connect skin tissue to the skeleton of a robot. He showed a robot by applying ‘living’ skin on its face.

Humans vs Robots: New discovery by Japanese researchers can create a stir in the world of robotics. They have found a way to implant living skin cells on the faces of robots. This discovery has been made by scientists of Tokyo University. Through new technology, robots will be able to reflect human expressions much better. Researchers also showed a robot smiling. Although it may look scary now, it gives the first glimpse of the robots of the future. This discovery is important in making robots look exactly like humans.

This research team was led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi of the Institute of Industrial Science. Takeuchi had previously created ‘living’ robotic skin using collagen. Collagen is a fibrous protein found in human skin. For the new technology, scientists took inspiration from the structure of the ligaments of human skin. Create ‘anchors’ by applying collagen gel to small V-shaped holes on the surface of the robot. Takeuchi says the new approach provides ‘seamless and sustainable connectivity’n

Robots will be able to repair skin like humans

The flexibility and strong adhesion of human skin allows the robotic skin to move mechanically without tearing or causing damage. The living robot skin that Takeuchi created using collagen enables the robotic finger to bend without breaking. According to researchers, the new method allows robots to repair their own skin. That means, in theory, future robots will repair their own skin tissue, just like we do.

No labor, such robots will take care

Takeuchi is not the only scientist working in this direction. There are many others who are trying to make robots look more and more like humans. Take Ameca, which is called ‘the world’s most advanced robot’. It talks to people through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and responds according to their answers. His eyes differentiate him from other robots. Robots like ‘Sophia’ and ‘Grace’ also made a lot of headlines. Apart from industrial robots, these robots have been designed for use in sectors like hospitality, health care and education

Real human skin cells

So whose skin did the researchers use? As it turns out, living human skin cells are readily available for purchase, and the cells came from a large number of anonymous human donors.

In their experiments, the researchers used commercially available human cells, purchasing what are called Normal Human Dermal Fibroblasts (NHDFs) and Normal Human Epidermal Keratinocytes (NHEKs) that were isolated from either juvenile foreskin or different skin locations from adult donors by a company called PromoCell GmbH.

A fibroblast is a special type of structural cell that contributes to the formation of connective tissue. And Keratinocytes represent “the major cell type of the epidermis, the outermost of the layers of the skin, making up about 90 percent of the cells there,” according to PromoCell’s website.

After obtaining the cells, the researchers then cultured them in specialized growth media to create the living skin layer. To keep the skin cells alive, the researchers used a special growth media supplemented with some antibiotics to keep bacteria at bay. The paper states that “Fibroblast growth medium (DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS, 1% penicillin-streptomycin, and 70 mg/mL L-ascorbic acid phosphate magnesium salt n-hydrate)” was used for the dermal fibroblasts. For the epidermal keratinocytes, the researchers used “keratinocyte growth medium (Keratinocyte Growth Medium 3 Kit supplemented with 1% penicillin-streptomycin).”

The researchers also note that “for both NHDFs and NHEKs, media were refurbished once every 2 days.” This regular refreshing of the growth media provided the necessary nutrients to keep the cells alive during the experiment

Beyond improving robotic interfaces, the research team believes their technique could have applications in cosmetics testing. By repeatedly actuating their smiling robot face over time, they observed the formation of expression lines analogous to human wrinkles.

The paper notes: “One significant next step in this research is to leverage this model to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying wrinkle formation. Moreover, applying this knowledge to recreate such expressions on a chip could find applications in the cosmetics industry and the orthopedic surgery industry

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