VOA科学技术2024--Japanese Scientists Make Robot Face 'Smile' with Lab-Grown Skin

Japanese scientists have found a way to attach living skin tissue to robotic faces and make them "smile." This breakthrough could be helpful not only in robotics, but also in cosmetics² and medicine.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo started the process by growing human skin cells in the shape of a face. Then, they used attachments³ that are similar to the ligaments in a human to pull the tissue into a wide smile.

First step to other breakthroughs

Lead researcher Shoji Takeuchi is a professor at the University of Tokyo. He said the result is an important step towards building more life-like robots. Using the attachments, he said, "it became possible to manipulate living skin for the first time."

The study about the smiling robot appeared last month in Cell Reports Physical Science. It represents 10 years of research by Takeuchi and his lab on how to best combine biological and artificial machines.

Living tissue is better for this application than metals and plastics, Takeuchi said. He noted⁴ that brains and muscles are more efficient in use of energy and the skin can repair itself.

In the future, the researchers aim to add more elements to the lab-grown skin, including a circulatory system and nerves. That could lead to safer testing methods for cosmetics and drugs absorbed, or taken in, through the skin.

It could also produce more realistic and functional⁵ coverings for robots. The remaining issue is how people react to machines that appear almost lifelike, but do not look exactly like humans.

"There's still a bit of that creepiness to it," Takeuchi said about the robot.

The uncanny valley

He added, "I think that making robots out of the same materials as humans and having them show the same expressions might be one key to overcoming the uncanny valley."

The "uncanny valley" is an idea that relates to how humans react to robots or other machines that act like humans. "Uncanny" is an adjective that means "being beyond what is normal or expected."

Japanese robotics scientist Masahiro Mori published a work, Bukimi No Tani, or "Uncanny Valley" in 1970. It proposed how people would react to lifelike robots, or androids.

Mori thought that at first, people would have positive feelings about robots that look a little bit like humans. But as robots got closer to being realistic human models, he believed those feelings would become more negative.

Those negative feelings are the so-called low point, or "valley," in a chart that represents the relationship between the human-like appearance of robots and humans' feelings toward and acceptance of such robots.

Words in This Story

cosmetic¹ - n. a substance (such as a cream, lotion⁶, or powder) that you put on your face or body to improve your appearance

ligament - n. a tough piece of tissue in your body that holds bones together or keeps an organ in place

eerie⁷ - adj. strange and mysterious

manipulate - v. to move or control (something) with your hands or by using a machine

circulatory - adj. of or relating to the circulation of blood through the body

creepy - adj. producing a nervous shivery apprehension⁸; annoyingly unpleasant

affinity⁹ - n. an attraction to or liking¹⁰ for something

uncanny valley - n. the unsettling feeling that comes when robots start to resemble humans a little too closely.

positive - adj. thinking about the good qualities of someone or something

negative- adj. thinking about the bad qualities of someone or something

1 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

2 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

3 attachments   

n.（用电子邮件发送的）附件( attachment的名词复数 )；附着；连接；附属物

参考例句：

• The vacuum cleaner has four different attachments. 吸尘器有四个不同的附件。
• It's an electric drill with a range of different attachments. 这是一个带有各种配件的电钻。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

6 lotion   

n.洗剂

参考例句：

• The lotion should be applied sparingly to the skin.这种洗液应均匀地涂在皮肤上。
• She lubricates her hands with a lotion.她用一种洗剂来滑润她的手。

7 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

8 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

9 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

10 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。