Author | fanfan
Source | Jiguo Editorial Department
For a long time, the research on robots has been about thinking about how to be more like humans.
Judging from the current research progress, the existing humanoid robot is very close to real people in terms of body movements and facial expressions, but its appearance is still a bit "rough".
This does not refer to the completeness of the facial features and limbs, but the texture of the skin.
Most existing humanoid robots use silicone skin to shape their coats. This silicone material does not do enough in terms of fine textures such as wrinkles, and it also lacks skin-specific functions, such as sweating. It can be said that "it can only be far away" Watch, don’t look closely”!
In order to make the robot look more realistic and detailed, a group of Japanese scientists began research.
Recently, scientists from the University of Tokyo in Japan announced in Matter magazine that they demonstrated a robot finger coated with "living skin", that is, a skin prototype made of real, living human cells. The skin not only has real people It has a skin-like texture and can heal itself after being "injured".
To be honest, this is the first time Ji Guojun has heard of using human skin to shape a robot, which is really mind-blowing. Researchers say this new design synthesis may be like a human wax figure, creating a more realistic human robot!
As we all know, human skin is a tissue that covers the surface of the human body and is in direct contact with the external environment. It is closely combined with the epidermis and dermis, of which 90% are epidermal keratinocytes, which have the functions of protection, sensation, secretion, excretion, and respiration. and other functions.
If you want to perfectly imitate human skin, you must first start with the material. Professor Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo said in a statement: "I think living skin is the ultimate solution to give robots a biological look and feel because it is exactly the same material as covering the body of animals."
Under the leadership of Professor Shoji Takeuchi Next, the research team first built an articulated robotic finger driven by a motor that can bend and straighten like a human finger.
After the finger prototype is completed, it is time to reach the most important step - skin production.
If you want to simulate "fake skin" that is close to human beings, ordinary silicone will naturally not work. It lacks the texture of human skin. In order to make more realistic skin, the research team established a tissue molding method to use skin directly around the robot. Cells cover the surface and shape skin tissue.
First, the researchers immersed the robot finger into a cylindrical mold filled with collagen and human dermal fibroblasts, the two substances that are the main components of the connective tissue of the skin. The mixture of collagen and fibroblasts naturally contracts and eventually adheres tightly to the finger, forming a layer similar to the dermis.
The team then poured another type of human skin cell, called keratinocytes , onto their fingers to recreate the upper layer of human skin, known as the epidermis. These cells make up 90% of the outermost layer of skin, giving the skin of the robot finger the texture and moisture barrier properties of human skin.
Two weeks later, the researchers tested the skin and found that its thickness was comparable to human skin. And the skin surface has enough strength and elasticity to be able to bend and stretch with the fingers without breaking. Since the fingers are powered by an electric motor, you can also hear the clicking sound of the motor during the bending process.
Takeuchi said the skin will wrinkle like normal skin, is much more realistic than silicone, and because it is made from real skin cells, it will also be waterproof and have the ability to repair itself.
Researchers conducted a test. After using a sharp object to make a small incision on the robot finger, as long as it is covered with a collagen bandage in time, the fibroblasts of the skin will fuse the bandage with the rest of the skin within a week. Together. When we are injured, we put band-aid on to promote wound healing.
In the end, even Takeuchi couldn't help but admire the experimental results. "We were shocked by the fit between the skin tissue and the surface of the robot!"
It can be seen that the skin is relatively perfect, but it is not suitable for commercial use.
Our human skin is part of the living system. It has nutrient supply and metabolism. It is a complete biological system. The human skin developed by the Japanese team this time uses living cell tissue and must have corresponding nutrition and metabolism. In other words, the skin needs to be constantly soaked in nutrients, otherwise it will not survive for a long time.
Additionally, this skin has no blood vessels to replenish moisture and will start to dry out after a while. In response to this problem, Takeuchi said that in the future, it may be possible to add artificial blood vessels and to the skin to maintain moisture in the skin. At the same time, they are also considering adding more complex functional structures, such as hair follicles, sweat glands, etc., to the existing skin to make it more realistic.
The research team also wants to create different skin colors by adding melanocytes , and even plans to coat the entire robot with living skin. The team even hinted that their living skin might one day tap into the psychological aspects of humanoid robot construction: adding sensory neurons. In this way, the gap between robots and humans will be reduced by another big step.
After seeing such a magical "spell", netizens couldn't sit still. They all said that it was a real-life painting. Some even boldly predicted that if this continues, people who have lost limbs will be able to have their limbs amputated one day in the future. The arm regenerated. As far as Ji Guojun is concerned, we don’t know where this technology will progress in the future, but the application scenarios of this type of research are still quite wide, such as more realistic prostheses, medical treatments, and better collaboration with humans.
Although the team's research is still in its early stages, and there may be various difficulties later, it is undeniable that this may be a promising step forward for the next generation of robotics. That is... we will probably be quite old when it is actually put into commercial use in the future.
