When you reach into your pocket and grab your keys, you can tell how they're oriented, without actually seeing them. Well, an engineering team has created a soft robotic gripper that works in much the same way. It can build virtual 3D models of objects simply by touching them.
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Origami has plenty to offer the world of robotics, the latest example of which is a tower-shaped soft robot that can grasp objects and could safely interact with humans, possibly even as a tool for invasive surgeries.
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The emerging field of soft robotics is helping to make robots safer, but recreating muscle is no easy task. Now, mechanical engineers from Columbia University have developed a synthetic soft muscle that’s much more simple to make and run than others, and is stronger than the real thing.
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The field of soft robotics is seeing some real progress towards machines that could work more safely with humans than their stiffer brethren. Researchers have now taken another step forward in this area, with a modular robot that can walk, climb vertical surfaces and even move things around.
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Rigid steel-and-plastic robots have their place, but some applications require a softer touch. Now, a Harvard team has created a semi-soft robot inspired by insects, which is made using drinking straws and moves by inflating bladders.
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In the world of robotics, researchers are going soft – in their designs at least. Soft robots have advantages over their more rigid brethren but till now, they've not been able to do much other than wriggle around. A new advance has changed that, by creating a bot with highly capable soft legs.
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Scientists have developed a method of getting soft robotic objects to move using directed magnetic fields. They say that it could be used for applications ranging from remotely-triggered drug-delivery pumps within the body, to the development of remotely deployable structures.
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Soft robotics holds great potential for the medical world, with flexible parts that are a lot more agreeable with our squishy tissue. With this goal in mind, MIT engineers have developed new hydrogel-based robots capable of generating enough force to "kick" balls and catch and release live fish.
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On the face of it, robots should be good at picking and packing online supermarket orders. Unfortunately, most robotic manipulators can't be trusted with easily bruised fruit and vegetables. To address this, Ocado has been putting new soft robots to the test in its European warehouses.
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Using extra-sensitive optical detectors built into a soft prosthetic hand, researchers at Cornell University have demonstrated a prototype that is able to tell by touch whether fruit is ripe, or to modify the pressure exerted on a material simply in response to the way it feels.
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