By Admin
Scientists have taken robotics a startling step closer to the human body after growing living human skin on a working robotic finger, creating a machine covering that stretches, bends and even develops wrinkles as the robot moves.
The breakthrough, achieved by researchers at the University of Tokyo, involved growing skin from human cells directly on a robotic finger. The cells formed layered tissue resembling natural human skin, including the dermis and outer epidermis.
The study, “Living skin on a robot,” was published in “Matter”. As the robotic finger bent and stretched, the living skin moved with it and developed natural-looking wrinkles around the joints, mimicking the behaviour of human skin. The researchers then tested whether the tissue could respond to injury.
After making a small cut in the artificial skin, they applied a collagen-based bandage. The living cells gradually repaired the wound, with the researchers reporting substantial healing over about a week.
The experiment points to a potentially new direction for robotics, in which machines could eventually be covered with living tissue rather than conventional synthetic materials.
The researchers' work could have implications for the development of more lifelike robots, advanced prosthetic devices and machines designed to interact more naturally with humans.
However, scientists say the technology remains far from producing a fully functioning human-like robotic body. One of the major challenges is keeping the living tissue alive. Unlike synthetic robot coverings, the cultured skin requires a moist environment to survive.
The University of Tokyo researchers' achievement nevertheless demonstrates that living human tissue can be integrated with a moving robotic structure and respond mechanically to movement and injury.
The development raises a striking possibility: future robots may not be covered entirely in plastic, rubber or metal. Some could carry living tissue capable of moving, changing and healing.
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