2024-07-02 05:30:00
In a video posted on the magazine’s website Cell Reports Physical Sciences, we can see a slightly glossy pink circle forming a kind of smile under two fake bulging eyes. The circle is actually made from skin grown from living cells in a lab. This is the result of research by Professor Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo and his colleagues, which aims to create skin that can move and repair itself like human epidermis.
In 2022, they had built a robotic finger covered in skin, but without connecting it to the structure it surrounded. To make this connection, they are developing a system inspired by the ligaments that connect human skin to subcutaneous tissue. Small V-shaped notches are carved into the surface to accommodate the skin. The surface is then covered with a gel composed of collagen and dermal fibroblasts (the stuff that forms the human epidermis). After 7 days of nurturing, the skin is ready to come back to life and connect to the structures it covers.
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Uses in cosmetics and plastic surgery
In an effort to make robots more humane, these Japanese scientists appear to be aiming to fulfill a fantasy long expressed in science fiction: Build machines like the men and women who build them. But the skin they developed is capable of performing more specific functions. It has similar properties to human skin and can be used as a support for cosmetic testing. It also allows plastic surgeons to train before performing surgery on “real” human skin.
So far, Professor Shoji Takeuchi’s team has placed this skin on a 3D face mold. She then developed it on a flat stand equipped with a rod that enabled it to move in order to draw the appearance of a smile. Although promising, the results are still far from mimicking the diversity and complexity of human expression. Many improvements can be made, such as refining the skin or adding muscles underneath it to allow it to perform more subtle movements.
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