These soft robots will amaze you
Conventional robots have rigid underlying structures which limit their ability to interact with their environment. Their manipulators have rigid links and can manipulate objects using only their specialized end effectors. Such robots often have trouble navigating in unstructured and congested environments.
Animals and plants exhibit complex movement with soft structures which lack rigid parts. Muscular hydrostats (such as octopus arms or elephant trunks) are composed of muscle and connective tissue; and plant cells can alter shapes when pressurized by osmosis. For some time, researchers have been inspired by biology to conceive “soft robots”. Equipped with a soft structure and surplus of freedom, these robots can be used for difficult tasks in unstructured situations. Let’s explore a few.
The “green cross”
This robot was developed by researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and could pave the way to fully untethered robots for space exploration, search and rescue systems, biomimetics, medical surgery…
