Abstract
In the early 21st century, ideas that were once purely the realm of science fiction are becoming a reality. Convincing humanoid robots, for example, have long been present in popular culture, but it is only now that science is beginning to catch up. In a 2022 article titled “Living Skin on a Robot,” a team of Japanese engineers describes how they have created a skin-like epidermal material suitable for covering mechanised limbs (Kawai et al. 2022). Just two years later, the same researchers report another development; this time, they have built a robotic face with a dermis “capable of expressing smiles” (Kawai et al. 2024). The article’s accompanying images show a pink blob of lab-engineered tissue; two glassy “eyes” staring upwards as the moist surface stretches into the half circle of an upturned mouth. Two years later, Forbes announces further innovation as “scientists give robots skin with pain sensations and human-like reflexes” (Koetsier 2026). In just six years, the technology of robot flesh has evolved from a waterproof covering to an interconnected and potentially emotive substance that “senses and feels like ours” (Koetsier 2026).