An octopus-shaped robot that can wave its legs slowly up and down is the first totally soft robot ever made. This proof-of-concept system paves the way for robots that can more easily and safely interact with living organisms.
Conventional robots made of hard materials, from their outer shell to the inner electronic components, are commonly used in manufacturing, where the environment is defined. While these hard-shelled bots are adept in the factory, they would have trouble reacting to changing conditions in a real-world environment and safely interacting with living organisms. Applications for soft robots include search-and-rescue operations and other exploratory activities.
Designed by Harvard Univ. researchers, the octobot uses hydrogen peroxide as fuel and a microfluidic logic circuit for movement control. A pneumatic system, consisting of inflatable compartments that expand and contract, drives the movement of the bot’s eight arms. The octobot is about 7 cm across and made from materials costing under $2.00 total.
To eliminate all hard components from a robot, the researchers had to rethink everything from the bottom up, says Michael Wehner, a research associate in materials science and mechanical engineering at Harvard...
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