In Japan, a team of scientists has pushed forward the field of robotics, by crafting living human skin on robots.
With the aim of making robots more human-like, the researchers from the University of Tokyo submerged a robotic finger in a cylinder filled with a solution of collagen and human dermal fibroblasts, the two main components that make up the skin’s connective tissues.
Due to the natural shrinking tendency of this collagen and fibroblast mixture, the solution adapted to the shape of the robotic finger, providing a uniform foundation for the next coat of cells — human epidermal keratinocytes — to stick to. These cells make up 90 per cent of the outermost layer of skin, giving the robot a skin-like texture and moisture-retaining barrier properties.
The results, described in the journal Matter, not only gave a robotic finger skin-like texture, but also water-repellent and self-healing functions.
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