Live skin on the face of humanoid robots

Japanese researchers have invented a way to attach live skin to the faces of robots so that the laughter and facial expressions of these tools are more realistic. According to the BBC, this achievement is the result of copying the structure of human body tissue, which a group of researchers from the University of Tokyo have done The prototype skin is very jelly-like. But the researchers believe that the said innovation will make moving humanoid robots with repairable skin that does not tear easily look more realistic.

The said skin was invented in the laboratory from living cells and is not only soft, but also can heal itself in case of a cut like the real one. This is while previous attempts to make such a skin were difficult. The researchers tried using small hooks as anchors, but they damaged the robot’s skin when it walked.

In humans, the skin is connected to the underlying structures by ligaments. These bonds are made of flexible collagen. To restore these links, the researchers made small holes in the robot and poured collagen gel into them, and in the next step, a layer of artificial skin was placed on it. The gel filled the holes and as a result, the skin remained attached to the robot.

Shoji Takeuchi, the senior researcher of the research, says: By imitating the ligament structures of human skin and using special V-shaped holes made in solid materials, we found a way to connect the skin to complex structures. The natural flexibility of human skin and the powerful skin bonding method means that the skin can move with the robot’s mechanical parts without tearing.