Soft robotics is a specialist field that’s focused on making robots more flexible to move more like biological systems. One recent creation in this field has been made by Professor Cecilia Laschi of Sant’Anna’s BioRobotics Institute and is based upon the biological system of an octopus. Laschi says the octopus is a fine example for understanding how the body can obtain a large variety of movements and behaviors. By studying the creature, she was able to create then a robot that could grasp, walk, and swim just like an octopus.
This creative creation of Laschi and her team is very flexible and reacts far better to the environment than most other robots around. Although soft robotics is a relatively new field, there is a lot of potential in what it can mean to the future of our robots. Surprisingly, this type of robot uses far less computing power than traditional models, is more flexible, and can move across rough terrains without too much trouble.
As part of the research, the Octopus-like robot was put to work out in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this year. Researchers were able to see close up how the device moved by drawing in a liquid and then expelling it from its body or by using its eight legs to scatter across the sea floor. Although this particular ‘Octopus’ project has now come to an end, similar work will continue by Laschi. They are currently investigating biomedical applications and one project, that’s been supported by the European Commission, involves building a soft arm that is capable of helping elderly people in the shower.
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