Robotics
Sea cucumbers have a bumpy and oblong shape. They are soft but stiffen up quickly when touched. They can shrink or stretch to several meters, and their original shape can be recovered even after they die and shrivel up with ...
Aug 18, 2021
0
468
Robotics
The shape memory polymers known as liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are increasingly popular for uses in soft robotics, haptics, and wearable computing. Functioning as actuators, they can allow materials to contract, expand, ...
May 26, 2022
0
428
Robotics
Buckling, the sudden loss of structural stability, is usually the stuff of engineering nightmares. Mechanical buckling means catastrophic failure for every structural system from rockets to soufflés. It's what caused the ...
May 20, 2020
0
92
Robotics
Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) in Genoa has realized a new soft robot inspired by the biology of earthworms, which is able to crawl thanks to soft actuators that elongate ...
Mar 1, 2023
0
226
Robotics
Actuators, which convert electrical energy into motion or force, play a pivotal role in daily life, albeit often going unnoticed. Soft material-based actuators, in particular, have gained scientific attention in recent years ...
Nov 10, 2023
0
29
Robotics
Add analog and air-driven to the list of control system options for soft robots.
Sep 28, 2022
0
121
Robotics
Traditionally, soft robots have been made using synthetic polymers, rubbers, and plastics. Such materials provide soft robots with long operational lives and stable structures, but may pose risks to the environment if lost ...
Jun 15, 2023
0
70
Robotics
Designing a soft robot to move organically—to bend like a finger or twist like a wrist—has always been a process of trial and error. Now, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied ...
Dec 19, 2016
0
27
Robotics
Octopus tentacles can move in many directions, but also form stiff joint-like structures for more precise movements. Caterpillars can travel by using inchworm movements, as well as coil up and propel themselves away from ...
Oct 4, 2021
0
81
Robotics
In the basement of the Engineering Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, a group of researchers is working to create the next generation of robots. Instead of the metallic droids you may be imagining, they are developing ...
Jan 4, 2018
0
202
