In what could be considered a mixed blessing at best, scientists are one step closer to making a Terminator.
Researchers in Japan have developed a living skin that can be used to cover a robotic structure, in the case of this project, a finger.
Not only does the skin have a texture similar to that of human skin, but it can self-heal and repel water.
A folded robotic finger covered in living human skin developed by researchers at the University of Tokyo. (Shoji Takeuchi)
“The finger looks a bit‘ sweaty ’directly from the culture medium,” said study lead author Shoji Takeuchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo, Japan.
“Because the finger is powered by an electric motor, it’s also interesting to hear the click sounds of the motor in harmony with a finger that looks like a real one.”
Appearing “real” as a human being is one of the top priorities of humanoid robots who are often tasked with interacting with humans in the healthcare and service industries, far removed from the killer cyborgs on the big screen.
According to researchers, a human appearance can improve the efficiency of communication and evoke sympathy.
In the culture medium, a robotic finger covered with live human skin is healed after researchers cover its wound with a sheet of collagen. (Shoji Takeuchi)
While current silicone skin made for robots can mimic the human look, it falls short when it comes to delicate textures like wrinkles and has no specific skin functions.
Attempts to make living skin sheets to cover robots have also had limited success, as it is difficult to adapt them to dynamic objects with uneven surfaces.
“With this method, you have to have the hands of a skilled craftsman who can cut and adapt the leather sheets,” Takeuchi said.
“To efficiently cover the surfaces with skin cells, we established a method of tissue molding to directly model the skin tissue around the robot, which resulted in perfect skin coverage in a robotic finger “.
We are still a long way from the world of Terminator. (Orion)
To create the skin, the team first dipped the robotic finger into a cylinder filled with a solution of human collagen and dermal fibroblasts, the two main components that make up the skin’s connective tissues.
Takeuchi said the success of the study lies in the natural tendency for this mixture of collagen and fibroblasts to shrink, which has shrunk and tightened tightly on the finger.
Like paint primers, this layer provided a uniform basis for the next layer of cells: human epidermal keratinocytes. These cells make up 90 percent of the outermost layer of the skin, giving the robot a skin-like texture and moisture-retaining barrier properties.
The handmade leather had enough strength and elasticity to withstand the dynamic movements as the robotic finger rolled and stretched.
How Australian inventions changed the world
The outermost layer was thick enough to stand up with tweezers and repel water, which provides several advantages when performing specific tasks such as handling electrostatically charged small polystyrene foam, a material that s ‘often used in packaging.
When injured, the elaborate skin could even self-heal like humans with the help of a collagen bandage, which gradually transformed into skin and withstood repeated joint movements.
Developed skin is much weaker than natural skin and cannot survive for long without a constant supply of nutrients and waste removal.
Takeuchi and his team then plan to address these issues and incorporate more sophisticated functional structures into the skin, such as sensory neurons, hair follicles, nails, and sweat glands.
“This work is just the first step towards creating live skin-covered robots,” Takeuchi said.
Nothing bad about it.