They have created a face mask from human skin cells and attached it to the robot with a booklet method that hides the bond and is versatile enough to turn illness into a serious smile or a light smile.
The effect is something between the terrifying masks of Hannibal Lecter and the claymation figure Gumby.
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But scientists say the prototypes pave the way for more sophisticated robots, with an outer layer both elastic and strong that protects the system as it ages, making it appear more humanlike.
Beyond expression, the “skin equivalent,” as researchers call it, made from living skin cells in a lab, can also reduce scarring and irritation and self-heal, according to a study published June 25. Journal Cellular Studies Body Science.
“Human-like faces and expressions improve communication and empathy in human-robot relationships, making robots more effective in health care, service and collaboration roles,” said Shoji Takeuchi, a University of Tokyo professor and management researcher on the study. an email.
The analysis comes as robots become more ubiquitous on factory floors.
According to the World Federation of Robotics, there are 3.9 million commercial robots working on auto and electronics assembly lines and alternative painting settings in 2022.
A subgroup of the entire robotic reserve includes so-called humanoids, machines designed with two fingers and two legs that allow them to work in environments that were created for human workers, such as factories, but also hospitality. , also in healthcare and training.
Carsten Heer, a spokesperson for the federation, said that humanoids were “an exciting area of development”, but that mass market adoption could be complex, and could be hindered by price.
However, in October 2023, the Chinese government introduced a goal of mass producing humanoids by 2025, which it estimated would significantly increase its business productivity.
For many years, robot engineers have experimented with clothing, in hopes of finding something that could provide protection for a robot’s advanced equipment but be comfortable and shiny enough for large-scale use.
If a robot’s exterior gets scratched or scratched, it can potentially handle system malfunctions, making the ability to self-repair an “important feature” for humanoid robots, the researchers said in the paper. .
The booklet skin attachment form advances the nascent garden of “biohybrid” robotics, which integrates mechanical engineering with genetic and tissue engineering, said Kevin Lynch, director of the Center for Robotics and Biosystems at Northwestern University.
“This study is an innovative contribution to the problem of connecting artificial skin to underlying materials,” Lynch said, adding that “living skin could help us achieve the holy grail of self-healing skin in biohybrid robots.”
He said the study is not concerned with how the robot’s skin will heal on its own without external backup.
For such robots, the content challenge extends to verisimilitude – finding ways to populate the system with characteristics that make it look and behave like a human, such as the ability to smile.
Scientists including Takeuchi and his colleagues at the University of Tokyo have been working with lab-grown human skin for years.
In 2022, the research team developed a robotic finger covered with human skin, allowing the system’s digits to bend like a human finger, giving it the ability to potentially perform more precise tasks.
Takeuchi’s team attempted to attach the outer part with mini-hooks, but they broke as the robot moved. So the workforce decided to mimic ligaments, which are modest ropes of free tissue that bind bones.
Team members drilled small, V-shaped holes in the robot and applied a gel containing collagen, which closed the holes and bonded the unrealistic skin to the robot.
“This approach integrates traditional rigid robots with soft, biological skin, making them more ‘human-like’,” said Yifan Wang, a labor teacher in the College of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Nanyang Technological College, Singapore. Who research imitative “soft robots”. Biological organism.
External binding additionally grants biohybrid robots the possibility of sentience, taking science one step closer to science-fiction.
“This could provide opportunities for robots to understand humans and interact with them safely,” Wang said.
The faces of robots with artificial skin in Takeuchi’s lab do not have the ability to sense touch or temperature changes or alternative external stimuli.
Takeuchi said this is his subsequent analysis goal.
“Our goal is to create skin that mimics the functionality of real skin by gradually building up essential components such as blood vessels, nerves, sweat glands, sebaceous glands and hair follicles,” he said.
In the park of neural programs that generate sensation in the human body, a robot’s electronics would need to energize a sensor signal — a creation that would require a lot of forethought and analysis, Wang said.
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