The stratum corneum (SC) is the outermost layer of the epidermis and plays an important role in maintaining skin moisture and protecting the skin from the external environment. Ceramide and natural moisturizing factor (NMF) are the major SC components that maintain skin moisture. In this study, we investigated whether the oral intake of enzymatically decomposed AP collagen peptides (APCPs) can improve skin moisture and barrier function by assessing changes in the ceramide and NMF contents in the SC after APCP ingestion with the aim to develop a skin functional food. Fifty participants orally ingested APCP (1000 mg) or placebo for 12 weeks, and then, skin hydration and skin texture were evaluated. SC samples were collected to analyze skin scaling, ceramide, and NMF contents. Participants in the APCP group exhibited improved skin moisture content by 7.33% (p = 0.031) and roughness by −4.09% (p = 0.036) when compared with those in the placebo group. NMF content; the amounts of amino acids (AA), including glycine and proline; and AA derivatives were significantly increased in the APCP group (31.98 μg/mg protein) compared to those in the placebo group (−16.01 μg/mg protein) (p = 0.006). The amounts of total ceramides and ceramide subclasses were significantly higher in the APCP group than in the placebo group (p = 0.014). In conclusion, our results demonstrate that APCP intake improves skin moisture and increase the ceramide and NMF contents in the SC, thereby enhancing the skin barrier function.

The quantitative monitoring of skin topography is important in the field of cosmetics and dermatology. The most widespread method for determining skin roughness in vivo is to use skin microrelief, PRIMOS device, which allows a noninvasive, fast and direct measurement of the skin surface. However, it has drawbacks, such as the interference of backscattering from volumetric skin and motion artifacts. In this study, we demonstrate the potential of OCT for providing reliable and quantitative skin surface roughness. In order to evaluate the performance of OCT for skin surface analysis, different types of skin phantoms were fabricated and measured. We utilized OCT to identify the effect of cosmetics as well as human skin topology for various aging groups and different skin regions. Skin surface roughness parameters based on ISO 25178 part 2 standard definitions were then derived from home-built image processing software and compared with one acquired from PRIMOS. Our results showed that skin surface geometry acquired from 3D OCT images was robust to motion artifacts and the angle to the subject. Since OCT enables to present quantitative skin topology and volumetric skin anatomy simultaneously, it would be a useful tool to deliver comprehensive and intuitive information in dynamic skin observations.

Avatar robots enable the teleoperation and telepresence of an operator with a rich and meaningful sense of existence in another location. Robotic avatar systems rely on intuitive interactions to afford operators comfortable and accurate robot control to perform various tasks. The ability of operators to feel immersed within a robot has drawn interest in multiple research fields to explore the future capabilities of such systems. This paper presents a robotic avatar system based on a custom humanoid robot, TOCABI, with a mobile base. Its teleoperation system was developed in response to the ANA Avatar XPRIZE. Combining the life-size humanoid robot and the mobile base allows for improved mobility and dexterous manipulation. The robotic avatar system comprises the robot/base and an operator station that incorporates haptic feedback devices, trackers, a head-mounted display, gloves, and pedals. These devices connect the robot-environment interaction and operator-avatar robot experience through visual, auditory, tactile, haptic, and kinesthetic feedback. Combining the untethered battery-operated and Wi-Fi-enabled robot with these sensory experiences enables intuitive control through the operator’s body movement. The performance of the robotic avatar system was evaluated through user studies and demonstrated in the ANA Avatar XPRIZE Finals, represented by Team SNU, where it completed 8 of the 10 missions, placing the team eighth among the 17 finalists.

This study describes a three-dimensional visualization system with spatial information for the effective control of a tele-operated robot. The environmental visualization system for operating the robot is very important. The tele-operated robot performs tasks in a disaster area that is not accessible to humans. The visualization system should perform in real-time to cope with rapidly changing situations. The visualization system should also provide accurate and high-level information so that the tele-operator can make the right decisions. The proposed system consists of four fisheye cameras and a 360° laser scanner. When the robot moves to the unknown space, a spatial model is created using the spatial information data of the laser scanner, and a single-stitched image is created using four images from cameras and mapped in real-time. The visualized image contains the surrounding spatial information; hence, the tele-operator can not only grasp the surrounding space easily, but also knows the relative position of the robot in space. In addition, it provides various angles of view without moving the robot or sensor, thereby coping with various situations. The experimental results show that the proposed method has a more natural appearance than the conventional methods.