Soft robots harvest ambient heat for self-sustained motion
A warm hand is enough to drive motion in tiny Salmonella-inspired robots that harness molecular-level dynamic bonding.
Bioinspired soft robotics investigates compliant robotic systems that emulate the mechanics, morphology, and control strategies of animals and other biological organisms. The field develops artificial muscles, soft actuators, and mechanical metamaterials using polymers, hydrogels, liquid crystal elastomers, and textile or origami-based structures to achieve muscle-like motion, shape morphing, and adaptive stiffness. It spans scales from sub-millimeter microrobots to larger soft-bodied platforms, integrating sensing, flexible electronics, and biohybrid components for autonomous locomotion, manipulation, and interaction in complex environments, particularly in aquatic and terrestrial settings.
Robotics
A warm hand is enough to drive motion in tiny Salmonella-inspired robots that harness molecular-level dynamic bonding.
Robotics
If you've ever moved into a new home, you know the challenge of packing a moving truck—it's like solving a giant, three-dimensional puzzle. Everything needs to fit just right, and nothing can be left loose or unbalanced, ...
Nov 24, 2025
0
31
Engineering
Researchers have discovered that ferroelectric fluids can harness an overlooked transverse electrostatic force (TEF) to rise over 80 mm, without magnets or high voltages. By exploiting the fluid's spontaneous polarization ...
Nov 21, 2025
0
61
Software
Researchers have developed a new algorithm that combines two processes for personalizing robotic prosthetic devices to both optimize the movement of the prosthetic limb and—for the first time—also help a human user's body ...
Nov 20, 2025
0
39
Robotics
Microrobots—tiny robots less than a millimeter in size—are useful in a variety of applications that require tasks to be completed at scales far too small for other tools, such as targeted drug-delivery or micro-manufacturing. ...
Hardware
Robots that can sense and respond to the world like humans may soon be a reality as scientists have created an artificial neuron capable of mimicking different parts of the brain.
Nov 18, 2025
0
188
Robotics
A research team led by Professor Wang Qining from the School of Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics, Peking University, has developed the world's first portable underwater exoskeleton system that assists divers' knee movement, ...
Nov 17, 2025
0
76
Robotics
Using common kitchen ingredients such as citric acid and sodium bicarbonate, scientists have created an edible pneumatic battery and valve system to power soft robots.
Robotics
Robots aren't always the most delicate of machines when handling fragile objects. They don't have the lightness of touch of humans. But that could be about to change thanks to a new development in smart materials.
Robotics
A research team led by Dr. Lin Cao from the University of Sheffield's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has reimagined one of robotics' long-standing flaws as a breakthrough feature—unveiling a new way for soft ...
Nov 7, 2025
0
136