Collaborate Disseminate
Plastic ketchup bottles have a valve in the lid that opens to let ketchup out, and that sometimes “sputters” if the bottle is squeezed too hard. Dutch scientists have copied that mechanism to create an actuator that could be used in autonomous soft rob… Continue reading Ketchup bottles inspire new method of moving soft-bodied robots
Scientists regularly draw ideas from the natural world in a bid to improve robotic performance, and when it comes to soft robots that swim, motion in the ocean is a rich source of inspiration. The latest creation to emerge in this space is a soft robot… Continue reading Swimming robot performs butterfly to move with unmatched speed
If you were trying to gauge the reaction force of an insect’s leg, you couldn’t just push it with your finger – the size difference between the two would be too great to do so with enough sensitivity. A set of hand-controlled soft robotic microfingers,… Continue reading Robotic microfingers allow scientists to get a feel for tiny objects
The flexible “fingers” at the tip of an elephant’s trunk have provided the inspiration for a versatile robotic gripper capable of picking up and holding onto a variety of objects both large and small – from an acupuncture needle to a thin metal ruler t… Continue reading Trunk-inspired robot gripper can pinch and grab objects small and large
Folks blessed with a soft touch seem to have no problem getting to grips with delicate objects, but it can be a tough ask for robots. Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have taken a strength-in-… Continue reading Robot tackles the knotty problem of grasping delicate objects
Folks blessed with a soft touch seem to have no problem getting to grips with delicate objects, but it can be a tough ask for robots. Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have taken a strength-in-… Continue reading Robot tackles the knotty problem of grasping delicate objects
Folks blessed with a soft touch seem to have no problem getting to grips with delicate objects, but it can be a tough ask for robots. Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have taken a strength-in-… Continue reading Robot tackles the knotty problem of grasping delicate objects
Inflatable actuators that change shape based on injected pressure can be strong, but their big limitation is that they always deform in the same way. But by taking structural inspiration …read more Continue reading Complex Movements From Simple Inflatables, Thanks to Physics
There is a lot for us still to learn about the dangers microplastics pose to the environment and the health of living organisms, but one thing is clear, their presence is widespread and only becoming more-so. Scientists have come up with a novel cleanu… Continue reading Light-activated fish-shaped robot soaks up microplastics from the water
The innovative use of magnetic fields has opened up some exciting possibilities in cancer treatment, with scientists demonstrating how they can be used to steer tumor-killing particles into cancer tissue or wires into veins in search of blood cancers, … Continue reading Tentacle-like robot weaves through the lungs to tackle cancer