This smiling robot's face is covered in living skin

CNN —

The soft pink blob stares into the camera with lifeless eyes, then a dimpled smile forms on its face.

It may seem like a nightmare, but this tiny robot covered in living skin could be a step forward in the quest to make robots more human-like. That's the work of Japanese researchers, who say they've found a new way to bond living skin tissue to the mechanical surfaces of robots.

The research team was led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo's Institute of Industrial Science, who previously developed living robotic skin using collagen, a fibrous protein found in human skin, and human dermal fibroblasts, the main cell type of connective tissue that can be applied to robotic fingers to bend without breaking.

For their new technique, the team was inspired by the natural structure of human skin ligaments, creating anchors by applying collagen gel to tiny V-shaped holes in the surface of the robot. The new method allows for a more seamless and durable attachment, Takeuchi says.

For their new technique, the team was inspired by the natural structure of human skin ligaments, creating anchors by applying collagen gel to tiny V-shaped holes in the surface of the robot. The new method allows for a more seamless and durable attachment, Takeuchi says.

Takeuchi is not the only one trying to make robots more human-like.

Often called the world's most advanced humanoid robot, Ameka uses artificial intelligence to converse with humans and respond appropriately to their responses. Will Jackson, founder and CEO of Engineered Arts (the company behind Ameka), says one of the things that makes Ameka seem more realistic than other robots is its eyes.

This is one of the most advanced humanoid robots in the world.

“The eyes are the windows to the soul. We read each other's emotions through eye contact,” Jackson told CNN earlier this year, adding that because robotic heads have limited movement options, the eyes are the most expressive.

Unlike the 3.5 million industrial robots already working behind the scenes in sectors like auto manufacturing and electronics, humanoids like Ameca and Hanson Robotics' Sophia and Grace are intended for human-facing roles like customer service, healthcare and education. Currently, humanoids don't have a wide range of facial expressions, which creates the uncanny valley effect, where people are put off by robots that try to resemble people but miss the mark.

Realistic facial expressions enhance a robot's ability to communicate and interact with humans more naturally and effectively, Takeuchi said, which is especially important in applications such as healthcare, where empathy and emotional connection can have a huge impact on patient care.

The research, detailed this month in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, is an exciting advancement for the field of robotics, said Yifan Wang, an assistant professor in the school of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, whose research focuses on biomimetic soft robots.

As the body's largest organ, skin is essential for sensory perception of temperature, humidity and the texture of objects, Wang said, adding that these kinds of functions in biological systems currently remain very difficult to achieve in artificial robots.

But the Tokyo University research is enabling some very interesting solutions that combine the fields of soft robotics with traditional robotics, Wang said. Robots are often covered in flesh-like materials such as silicone that are attached with glue and fasteners, but this can cause the skin to peel off or tear, Wang said.

The new method, on the other hand, offers a way to adhere the skin very well to a hard surface, so that the skin doesn't peel off easily and forms a very good interface between the hard and soft parts, he says.

For Wang, the most intriguing implications of this research relate to developing robots' sensing capabilities.

Human skin has a highly sensitive and dense surface that is not yet achievable with synthetic materials, Wang said, “but using biological skin on a conventional robot would allow it to sense a range of different features in the same way.”

In the next stage of their research, Takeuchi says, he and his team hope to add more sensory functions, making the skin more sensitive to environmental stimuli.

But ensuring the consistency and quality of living skin may not be so easy, Takeuchi says.

So another part of his research is investigating how to create a vascular system for robotic skin — a network of blood vessels and veins that carry blood and lymph throughout the body that can provide the nutritional supply needed to keep the skin healthy over the long term. This would keep the skin hydrated and improve its durability and longevity, Takeuchi says.

Wang said this would require a lot of engineering work, but if it could be achieved, it could mean that humanoids in the future would have the ability to look and feel like humans.

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