Lab grown skin gives robots the ability to smile

Scientists from the University of Tokyo, Japan, have created a human-like fleshy skin in a laboratory, enabling a humanoid robot to smile and give expressions. They have found a way to bind the engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots

Hyderabad: A living skin developed in a laboratory is attached to the face of a humanoid robot, enabling it to smile and even give human-like expressions! This is not a movie scene from a sci-fi movie, but a reality.

Scientists from the University of Tokyo, Japan, have created a human-like fleshy skin in a laboratory, enabling a humanoid robot to smile and give expressions. They have found a way to bind the engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots.

The research by Japanese engineers, published in the prestigious journal Cell Reports Physical Sciences (July 2024), means that in the near future, whenever a humanoid robot gets injured, the skin can self-heal, will have sensing abilities and increasingly will look ‘life-like’ and not like a life-less robot.

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 research could also be useful in the cosmetics industry and to help train plastic surgeons.

Takeuchi’s lab, the Biohybrid Systems Laboratory, has also 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, the University of Tokyo press release said.

“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.”

According to the research scientists, this research will have long-term applications in several areas of medical research.

“The idea of an organ-on-a-chip is not especially new, and finds use in things like 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,” the researchers added.