From LiveScience:
Robots of the future could be wrapped in lifelike skin that can repair itself, in a similar way to the way human skin heals, thanks to a novel approach involving cultured skin cells. The skin will also appear more lifelike thanks to a new way of attaching it to the robot’s skeleton as well the fact that it can repair any cuts or scrapes by itself — researchers said. They published their findings June 25 in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. In the new study, researchers pioneered a method whereby the robot’s skeleton contains tiny holes into which the artificially grown skin can extend v-shaped hooks known as “perforation-type anchors”.