'Terminator' robots could soon be a reality

Human flesh-covered robots that were featured in the famous fiction movie Terminator could soon become a reality in the near future. Though they may sound terrifying to even imagine, the reality is that researchers say they can be used to improve the lives of the injured who are in need of tissue transplants. According to biomedical scientists at the University of Oxford, growing tissue grafts on humanoid robots can be a strategy in the future of regenerative medicine.

The past decade has seen a massive progress in development of humanoid robots, which can be of immense value in space exploration and medicine.

In a recent study released online on ScienceRobotics, researchers say, ‘with their structures activated by artificial muscles, musculoskeletal humanoids have the ability to mimic more accurately the multiple degrees of freedom and the normal range of forces observed in human joints. As a result, it is not surprising that they offer new opportunities in science and medicine. Here, we suggest that musculoskeletal robots may assist in the growth of musculoskeletal tissue grafts for tissue transplant applications.’

By growing human tissues on robots for transplantation, it allows for personalised tissue graft development that can better mimic stresses on the tissue after transplantation. This can reduce the use of animals put on test.

‘In aging populations, musculoskeletal tissue disorders and injuries are a growing health, social, and economic burden. Pain and lack of mobility are common problems due to failure of tissues, such as tendon, ligament, bone, and cartilage. A promising repair strategy is to engineer tissue grafts. Tissue engineering is enabled by the development of bioreactor systems, which control the environmental conditions necessary for maintaining living cells and tissues outside the body. They also provide chemical and mechanical stimulations that promote the differentiation of particular cell phenotypes within the tissue construct. However, to create functional tissue grafts, more advanced bioreactors are needed. In particular, current bioreactors provide stimuli that fail to mimic the real mechanical environment for cells, and this hinders or prevents the fabrication of clinically relevant grafts,’ states the study.

However, currently available bioreactors have a limitation. They poorly mimic the mechanical loadings that are experienced in the body. Researchers say that to produce clinically relevant grafts, future bioreactors will need to:

1. Provide multidirectional stresses by a combination of tension, torsion, compression, and shear stresses;
2. Adapt the loading regime to each individual tissue in consideration of their anatomical location; and
3. Enable the fabrication of tissue constructs with dimensions similar to their native counterparts.

With respect to the considerations given above, researchers will have to develop bioreactors with structures, dimensions and mechanisms that will be similar to the human body. This possibility could mean that humanoid robots with musculoskeletal exteriors will become highly relevant. Musculoskeletal humanoids were developed to interact with humans in a safe and natural way. Some examples of these robots are Kenshiro and Eccerobot. They are aimed to closely replicate the detailed anatomy of the human musculoskeletal system, which include muscles, tendons and bones.