Japanese Scientists Succeed in Developing Robotic Finger Made of Living Skin Cultured in Human Cells

A team of researchers has recently succeeded in a robotic finger with a living skin developed by culturing the skin cells of a human.

As indicated in a Japan Today report, the University of Tokyo was the location of this unique scientific breakthrough achieved by the team led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi.

This latest invention promises a marked enhancement over the silicon that today's androids tend to use. On top of never quite overcoming the so-called "uncanny valley," silicon rubber is believed to have problems in terms of sensors and repairs.

Skin is the first step as well in integrating organic matter with machines. It also allows for incorporating nerves and sensory organs like olfactory receptors, which can identify scents.

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(Photo: GERARD JULIEN/AFP via Getty Images)
A man moves his finger toward the finger of a humanoid robot.

With Self-Healing Potential

Another essential addition will be a form of blood vessels that can provide nourishment to the skin since, at the moment, it can only survive outside the cell culture for approximately an hour.

The skin is roughly 1.5 millimeters thick, consists of epidermis and dermis layers, and links to the metal frame by a set of mushroom-shaped fasteners.

Moreover, since the skin is made of living cells, it has the potential for self-healing with the addition of a collagen sheet to the wounded site.

SoraNews 24 reported that while such developments may help skin transplants in humans as well, a major advantage is the creation of three-dimensional or 3D models that can be used to precisely test pharmaceuticals and cosmetics instead of animals. Essentially, this skin can also be utilized to cover prosthetic limbs so they'll look more realistic.

University of Tokyo makes breakthrough in regenerative medicine/Skynet development. https://t.co/zP4VoKVsz3
— SoraNews24 (@RocketNews24En) June 15, 2022

Hybrid Robot with Working Muscles

This is not the first time robots have been developed using "live parts." In 2018, a separate SoraNews 24 report specified that at the time, a research team from Tokyo University was creating the world's first hybrid robot with actual working muscles.

In the endless search to improve robotics and the human lifestyle by extension, the research team, also led by Professor Takeuchi, developed a robot that would use real muscles successfully.

By attaching laboratory-cultured muscle cells to plastic bones, the researchers ran actual electric currents through the setup to generate contractions.

As a result, the team was able to produce a small version of a human arm that had antagonistic and agonistic muscles, opposing pairs of muscles that either contract or relax, that we're able to keep sufficiently rigid postures and therefore lift objects, "the first hybrid robots of its kind."

Everything Started From a Small Arm

Commenting on the 2018 robotic invention, the professor said it was still in the very early stages, although he thought it was a "huge initial step."

Already setting their views outside the horizon, the scientists hoped to push its development further into prosthetic hands' production.

Obtaining durable yet flexible artificial limbs might be great, but having natural-looking ones made of real muscles is extremely desirable.

The team said it would take so many years to produce a replica of a functional human hand.

Probably, hundreds more before androids at technology expos turn to be more human than machine. However, they continued explaining, and when it did, "remember that it all began" from that small arm.

A report about the robot finger is shown on Nippon TV News 24 Japan's YouTube video below: