THE humanoid robotshumanoid robots have two arms, two legs, a body, but always improbable, even frightening, heads. However, there has been progress and Futura has already mentioned the very expressive and realistic face of the Ameca robot. His gray skin remains off-putting, but the expressions of a real human face are impressive.
A team of Japanese researchers from the University of Tokyo is now raising the bar a little higher with the creation of specific skin for robots. What’s confusing is that this skin is grown from human cells and can adhere to any surface. The skin in question mimics the structures of ligaments skinskin humans in order to hold on to the complex and mechanical elements of a robot. To achieve this skin which has the natural flexibility of that of a human, engineers cultivated it in the laboratory, then applied a gelgel of collagencollagen. The whole thing was treated with a plasma based on water vapor. In the end, the skin turned out to be sufficiently hydrophilichydrophilic so that the collagen can bond to the structure of the robot, a bit like ligaments.
A frightening result
If this organic skin, moist and flexible, is stunning, the result remains no less frightening. During their experiment, the team applied their layers of “living” skin to a 3D reproduction of a humanoid head. They also did the same with a 2D face fitted with robotic actuators to check theelasticityelasticity of the skin during movementsmovements. The result is a sort of awkward smiley capable of smiling. What is clear to anyone is also clear to researchers, who consider that the result remains far from that of a real human face. But, according to them, this process could make it possible to develop new approaches in mattermatter reconstructive plastic surgery, or for research into aging.
The team plans to improve the appearance of this skin by adding wrinkles and a epidermisepidermis thicker in order to accentuate its humanization. They even hope to go further by believing that it is possible to create skin capable of incorporating, sweat glandssweat glandssebaceous, pores, blood vessels, fat and nervesnerves.
