Robot Skin

Continuing with the robot theme, the lowbrow science site LiveScience.com (infamous for sensationalistic headlines) carried a very funny article by Bill Christensen of Technovelgy.com,

Robots Get Soft, Human-Like Skin

If you hate being touched by your robot because of its cold metallic skin, take heart. Cosmetics manufacturer Kao Corporation and a Keio University research team led by robotics professor Takashi Maeno have developed artificial skin that feels just like yours. Or even softer.

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According to the developers, ten out of twelve people agree that it feels like regular human skin. Machines also confirmed that the characteristics of the artificial skin werre similar to the skin of organic, natural humans.