Pierre-Alexis Mouthuy and Andrew Carr, authors of the article published in Science Robotics, do not want to fall into sensationalism with this new publication, that is, they want this application to have a medical purpose behind them. Their proposal is that these humanoid robots could serve to create muscles and functional tendons, body tissue that could later be carried to people who need it. In other words, it would be a really positive test field. However, if there are already alternative methods to create skin, why propose new where 100% real fabric would be used? According to the researchers themselves, current techniques “do not mimic the actual mechanical environment for cells.” The human cells in the muscles and tendons grow as the latter stretch, as they move around our skeleton. The grafts produced in laboratories have these structural complications that prevent proper functioning.
Like the robot of Tokyo
Researchers at the British Center have speculated that the end result may look like robot Kenshiro of the University of Tokyo. This is characterized by the fact that the body is covered with white tissue made by different chemical processes. The idea of humanoids they have on their heads would be like that of Terminator: a metallic skeleton filled with completely real tissue. Moreover, they want the patients who receive the skin to touch the same when it is implanted in the robots. For the moment, the study leaves open the possibility of a future development to corroborate the words of Rodney Brooks: the robots will not replace the humans, but we will become them.
