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
The compound eyes of the humble fruit fly are a marvel of nature. They are wide-angle and can process visual information several times faster than the human eye. Inspired by this biological masterpiece, researchers at the ...
Robotics
What is it about a cheetah's build that enables it to run so fast? What gives the wolf its exceptional endurance? While these questions can be partly answered through animal experiments, many contributing factors can't be ...
Feb 11, 2026
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Robotics
A system developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo lets people collaborate with groups of robots to create works of art inspired by music. The new technology features multiple wheeled robots about the size of ...
Feb 9, 2026
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Robotics
Ever feel run off your feet? Spare a thought for sea stars, creatures whose movement involves the coordination of hundreds of tiny tube feet to navigate complex environments—despite the lack of a central "brain."
Feb 7, 2026
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Robotics
Researchers have developed an AI control system that enables soft robotic arms to learn a wide repertoire of motions and tasks once, then adjust to new scenarios on the fly without needing retraining or sacrificing functionality. ...
Feb 5, 2026
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Robotics
Mechanical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a proof-of-concept method for programming mechanical properties into solid Lego-like building blocks. By controlling the solidity of hundreds of individual cells in ...
Feb 3, 2026
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Robotics
Consider the marvelous physics of the human knee. The largest hinge joint in the body, it has two rounded bones held together by ligaments that not only swing like a door, but also roll and glide over each other, allowing ...
Feb 2, 2026
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Robotics
As the new robot called Sprout walks around a Manhattan office, nodding its rectangular head, lifting its windshield wiper-like "eyebrows" and offering to shake your hand with its grippers, it looks nothing like the sleek ...
Jan 27, 2026
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Robotics
Researchers are continuing to make progress on developing a new synthetic material that behaves like biological muscle, an advancement that could provide a path to soft robotics, prosthetic devices and advanced human-machine ...
Jan 27, 2026
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Robotics
Collaborative robots, or cobots, are required to maintain compliant interaction while delivering rapid response performance when subjected to sudden, strong forces, such as during impact riveting, resistance spot welding, ...
Jan 27, 2026
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