Soft Robotics

Soft robotic devices often need to sense both mechanical deformation and changes in temperature, requiring multiple integrated sensors. ChromoSense technology, however, combines both functions in one simple, robust, color-changing device.

Pleurocystitid was a marine organism that existed almost 450 million years ago, long before the first dinosaurs. Scientists have now built a soft-bodied robotic replica of it, which could inspire new methods of locomotion for future robots.

In order to function safely alongside human workers, robotic arms shouldn't be hard and unyielding. An experimental new arm was designed with that fact in mind, as it mimics soft n' squishy elephant trunks and octopus tentacles.

If a robot is trying to traverse rugged, irregular terrain, it's limited by having just one body shape. The Tetraflex robot was designed with this fact in mind, as it can change shape to adopt different modes of locomotion.

It goes without saying that it is very important for airliners' jet engines to be regularly inspected. Such inspections could soon be easier and more thorough than ever before, thanks to a robot that moves like an inchworm.

While we've heard about a number of drug-dispensing medical implants, most of them have the same drawback – they end up getting covered in scar tissue. An experimental new one avoids that problem by changing shape as the tissue starts to form.

Using a novel design inspired by the Japanese art of paper cutting, researchers have developed gentle yet strong robotic grippers that can fold clothes, grasp a drop of water, lift 16,000 times their own weight, and turn the pages of a book.

The less energy that a robot uses to perform its assigned duties, the better. A new soft robotic gripper was created with this fact in mind, as it grasps and releases objects without using any electricity at all.

In the treatment of epilepsy, doctors will sometimes implant arrays of stimulating electrodes on the surface of a patient's brain. A new soft robotic system allows those electrodes to be placed far less invasively than ever before.

The flapping motion of a new robotic jellyfish is not only good for propulsion, but it can also draw small bits of debris up from the ocean floor without contact. Such a robot could remove trash from delicate ocean environments, like coral reefs.

If you've ever tried piloting a drone, you'll know that they end up running into walls, trees or whatnot … often getting damaged in the process. An experimental inflatable-body drone, however, just bounces off obstacles – plus it can grasp onto them.

Italian researchers have created a novel 4D-printed biodegradable 'seed robot' that changes shape in response to changes in humidity and can navigate through the soil. The device has great potential as a new way of monitoring the environment.