Japanese scientists make robot face with living skin that can smile

LONDON AND TOKYO -- Scientists in Japan have made a robot face covered in living, self-healing skin that can smile in a demonstration of a new technique researchers believe could help pave the way for lifelike biohybrid humanoid robots in the future.

The scientists, led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi at the University of Tokyo’s Biohybrid Systems Laboratory, attached cultured skin to a 3D facial mold using perforation-type anchors, which mimic the natural structure of human skin ligaments.

“The ultimate aim of this project is to create robots with fully-functional, lifelike skin that can heal itself, sense its surroundings and perform tasks that closely mimic human behavior,” Takeuchi told ABC News.

A video demonstration shows a circular piece of cultured living skin, anchored over a 3D facial mold being stretched from a blank facial expression to a smile.

In addition, the team also covered a robotic finger in the skin and were able to make it bend and even flick small objects with fluid motion.

The new anchors developed by the team mean the robots external appearance is not compromised by having protruding skin anchors, which can also damage the skin during movement.

The researchers say that one of the key advantages of a robot having living skin is its capacity to self-heal, rather than requiring repair every time it is scratched or damaged.

The technology is still in its infancy, however, meaning that it will likely be a long time before Terminator-style living-skin-covered robots are an everyday occurrence.

In order for the skin to stay on a robot long-term, scientists would need to integrate other biological systems, such as nerves, muscles and sensory organs into it.

“Developing a method to incorporate blood vessels or an alternative nutrient supply system remains one of the key challenges we are working on to extend the skin's viability outside controlled environments,” Takeuchi said.

Beyond robotics, perfecting this skin technology could also have important applications in areas like drug testing, skin grafting and wound healing in medicine.

As the technology advances and other supportive systems, such as blood vessels, are incorporated into the skin, it may even lead to biohybrid robots with skin that could mimic other human behaviors.

“If we can incorporate melanocytes into the engineered skin, it might be possible that robots could 'tan,'" Takeuchi said.

Biohybrid robotics involves combining engineered, synthetic components with living, biological materials. In the recent past, scientists in the field have created micro-organism biohybrid robots using materials like bacteria and algae, which can be used for things like drug delivery or environmental monitoring.

In addition, animals have been fitted with robotic components, such as a cyborg beetle fitted with components which allowed scientists to control its walking, or a robotically augmented jellyfish that could swim significantly faster than its peers and have its movement controlled by scientists.