Robotics professor Takashi Maeno and his research team at Keio University have joined hands with cosmetics manufacturer Kao Corporation and developed artificial skin that feels natural.

    According to the researchers, 10 out of 12 people agree that it feels like regular human skin. Machines also confirmed that the characteristics of the artificial skin were similar to the skin of organic, natural humans.

    When it comes to a natural look and touch this new artificial skin is far better than the pressure-sensitive skin previously reported, which uses organic field-effect transistors to fabricate sensitive skin for robots.

    The new artificial outer covering allows that real human skin feeling by covering a 1-cm thick "dermis" of elastic silicone with a 0.2-mm thick "epidermis" of firm urethane. Countless tiny hexagonal indentations etched into the urethane epidermis provide it with a very realistic texture.

    A projected medical application would be covering robotic hands used in remote-teloperated breast exams. Enditem

    (Agencies)