In Japan, researchers have succeeded in making a robot’s smile more realistic by using human cells. A technological revolution, because androids are generally covered with silicone skin that cannot sweat or heal.
The University of Tokyo researchers shared their findings Monday in a study published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. They also released a video showing the robots displaying a realistic but somewhat…scary smile.
To recreate a “natural smile”, they gelatinized human tissue which they attached inside the robot’s holes, a method inspired by real ligaments in human skin.
Also for humans
The specialists hope “that this technology will allow a better understanding of the formation of wrinkles and the physiology of facial expressions, and that it will contribute to the development of transplant materials and cosmetic products”, declared the team led by the professor of computer mechanics Shōji Takeuchi.
Their goal, even if they have not yet completely achieved it, will ultimately be to provide them with the “self-healing capabilities inherent” in human skin.
In previous studies, they grafted collagen onto laboratory-grown skin with a cut, affixed to a robotic finger. The goal was to demonstrate how it could heal itself.
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