Japanese Scientists Achieve Breakthrough with Smiling Robot

Japanese scientists have made a groundbreaking advancement by attaching living skin tissue to robotic faces, enabling them to 'smile.' This innovative achievement, spearheaded by Shoji Takeuchi at the University of Tokyo, promises notable applications in cosmetics and medicine.

By growing human skin cells shaped like a face and utilizing ligament-like attachments, the researchers managed to produce a wide grin on a robot. This development marks an essential step in creating more life-like robots, as highlighted in a recent study by Cell Reports Physical Science.

The benefits of using living tissue over traditional materials like metals and plastics include greater energy efficiency and the skin's self-repair abilities. The team plans to enhance the lab-grown skin with elements such as a circulatory system and nerves, potentially providing safer platforms for testing cosmetics and drugs. While the current prototype still evokes some unease, Takeuchi believes that lifelike materials and expressions could help bridge the 'uncanny valley' phenomenon.

(With inputs from agencies.)