With the recent technological advancements, it looks like we are much closer to realistic humanoid robots than we think. We already have models that have human-like frames, and now researchers are experimenting with ways to apply a layer of skin to the machines.
Realistic Skin for Robots
We might someday reach the point where the humanoid robots around us are almost hard to discern from real human beings, and the process appears to have already begun. The University of Tokyo and Harvard University are already experimenting with ways to make that real.
Researchers have found a way to create a skin equivalent or a living skin model that has its own cells, meaning that it will appear, feel, and even heal as human skin does. In the study, there is already a video showing how the skin would work using a small sample.
As shown in the photo, it appears as a flat pink blob with eyes, making it look like the stuff of nightmares for others. With its flexibility, the skin can even mimic facial expressions like smiling, and it's all because of the newly developed way the skin can adhere to a certain surface.
To avoid the skin shifting or moving around the way clothes would when worn, the research team created "perforation-type anchors" inspired by skin ligaments. These anchors will adhere to the robot's outer surface, much like skin ligaments to the human tissue and muscle, as per Engadget.
To achieve this, the robot itself must have -shaped holes in its structures so that the synthetic skin would penetrate it, and the team would use water-vapor-based plasma treatment to enhance the gel's penetration into these holes.
What's more impressive is that there are already other existing functions that can contribute to a human-like robot such as tactile sensitivity, self-repair, and even perspiration, as mentioned in the study, and the biofabrication of skin is among the biggest advancements of them all.
Humanoid Robots
We are not behind on the development of humanoid robots either. There are already many companies developing their own models. One of the most popular brands to do this is Tesla with its Optimus robot, although there are arguably others who are farther along in terms of progress.
Figure AI, for instance, has already developed a humanoid robot that can perform menial tasks like sorting objects, and even identifying items through its camera. It uses an AI model developed by OpenAI.
With it being capable of speech-to-speech reasoning, it's easy to see how the robot can respond to voice prompts. In the demonstration shown through a video, it can neatly arrange dishes on a dish rack without further instructions.
It even managed to exhibit how its logic worked when it was asked to provide food and it gave an apple to the demonstrator. When asked why the robot handed the apple, it explained that the fruit was the only edible object on the table, which led to its decision to hand it over.
