Japan researchers create facial robot covered with ‘living skin’

Japan researchers create facial robot covered with 'living skin' - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- A facial robot covered with

The Mainichi

By The Mainichi

TOKYO — A facial robot covered with “living skin” made from human cells has been developed by a team of researchers from the University of Tokyo and other institutions. The device will apparently help elucidate the process of wrinkle formation and reduce animal testing in cosmetics and drug development.

The researchers even managed to develop a unique structure that mimics the way muscle movement is transmitted to the skin, enabling the robot to smile.

Most conventional humanoid robots use soft silicone rubber as skin. To make the facial robot more human-like, the team cultured human skin cells and created facial skin approximately 2 millimeters thick and 25 mm in diameter, consisting of a dermic layer and an epidermal layer.

The conventional method of attaching such living tissue to artificial objects such as robots is to hook them onto protrusions, but this method has the problem of making them look unnatural and move awkwardly. By using the structure of human subcutaneous tissue as a reference, the team developed a new mechanism that attaches living tissue by inserting it into holes drilled in the robot’s surface. This enables the robotic face to move smoothly.