2nd July 2024 Robots with living skin New skin technology developed by Japanese researchers can endow robots with humanlike traits, bringing a sci-fi concept closer to reality.
Researchers have found a way to bind engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots, reminiscent of the living tissue seen in the Terminator series of movies. If developed further, the potential benefits to robotic platforms may include greater mobility, self-healing abilities, improved touch and sensing, and increasingly lifelike appearances. Taking inspiration from human skin ligaments, the team, led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo, included special perforations in a robot face, which helped a layer of skin take hold. Their work is published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. Takeuchi is a pioneer in the field of biohybrid robotics, where biology and mechanical engineering meet. Previously, his lab has created mini robots that walk using biological muscle tissue, 3D printed lab-grown meat, engineered skin that can heal, and more. It was during research on the last of these items that Takeuchi felt the need to take the idea of robotic skin further to improve its properties and capabilities. "During previous research on a finger-shaped robot covered in engineered skin tissue we grew in our lab, I felt the need for better adhesion between the robotic features and the subcutaneous structure of the skin," said Takeuchi. "By mimicking human skin-ligament structures and by using specially made V-shaped perforations in solid materials, we found a way to bind skin to complex structures. The natural flexibility of the skin and the strong method of adhesion mean the skin can move with the mechanical components of the robot without tearing or peeling away."
Previous methods to attach skin tissue to solid surfaces involved things like mini anchors or hooks, but these limited the kinds of surfaces that could receive skin coatings and could cause damage during motion. By carefully engineering small perforations instead, essentially any shape of surface can have skin applied to it. The trick the team employed was to use a special collagen gel for adhesion, which is naturally viscous so difficult to feed into the minuscule perforations. But using a common technique for plastic adhesion called plasma treatment, they managed to coax the collagen into the fine structures of the perforations while also holding the skin close to the surface in question. "Manipulating soft, wet biological tissues during the development process is much harder than people outside the field might think. For instance, if sterility is not maintained, bacteria can enter and the tissue will die," said Takeuchi. "However, now that we can do this, living skin can bring a range of new abilities to robots. 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. Biological skin repairs minor lacerations as ours does, and nerves and other skin organs can be added for use in sensing and so on." In addition to a 3D facial mould, Takeuchi's team demonstrated a 2D version. Designed to mimic the zygomaticus major muscle in a real human face, this is able to smile through actuation via anchors:
The skin technology seen here may have several applications in medical research. The idea of an organ-on-a-chip is not especially new and is already used in areas such as drug development, but something like a "face-on-a-chip" could be useful in research into skin aging, cosmetics, surgical procedures, plastic surgery and more. Also, if sensors can be embedded, robots may be endowed with better environmental awareness and improved interactive capabilities. "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," explained Takeuchi. "Additionally, through this research, we identified new challenges – such as the necessity for surface wrinkles and a thicker epidermis to achieve a more humanlike appearance. We believe that creating a thicker and more realistic skin can be achieved by incorporating sweat glands, sebaceous glands, pores, blood vessels, fat, and nerves. "Of course, movement is also a crucial factor, not just the material, so another important challenge is creating humanlike expressions by integrating sophisticated actuators, or muscles, inside the robot. Creating robots that can heal themselves, sense their environment more accurately and perform tasks with humanlike dexterity is incredibly motivating." In the coming years, the integration of living tissue on robots could bring us eerily close to the sort of realistic humanoid robots seen in popular culture. As this technology continues to improve, the line between science fiction and reality will become blurred, making concepts once found only in blockbuster movies a tangible part of our future.
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