Japan creates robot that can smile and has real skin

Researchers at the University of Tokyo announced their findings this week, along with a video showing the gooey-looking pink material being stretched into a smile.

The study, published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, said scientists used a "gel filled with skin-forming cells" to create a "robot covered in living skin".

Biorobotics experts hope that this technology will one day play a role in the invention of robots that look and function like humans.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have used a "gel filled with skin-forming cells" to create a "robot covered in living skin". Photo: X

"We also hope this will help shed more light on wrinkle formation and the physiology of facial expressions," and help develop implants and cosmetics, said the team led by professor Shoji Takeuchi.

The new material could signal a change from traditional humanoid robots covered in realistic-looking skin, often made of silicone rubber, that cannot sweat or heal itself.

The scientists' goal is to "give robots the inherent self-healing capabilities of biological skin," but they're not there yet.

In previous studies, scientists grafted collagen onto cuts in the robot's artificial skin in the lab to demonstrate its self-healing abilities. However, they said conducting similar healing tests on their smiling robot skin "is a future challenge."

To give the robot a "natural smile," the researchers gelatinized skin-like tissue and fixed it into the robot's holes, a method inspired by real human skin ligaments.

Hoai Phuong (according to AFP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nhat-ban-che-tao-robot-biet-cuoi-va-co-lan-da-that-post301178.html