The squishy future of robotics
A team of scientists led by Harvard University has managed to build an entirely soft robot – inspired by an octopus.
The octobot, described this week in the journal Nature, could pave the way for more effective soft robots that could be used in search and rescue and exploration, and to more safely interact with humans.
‘‘Robots are typically used in manufacturing contexts that involve well-structured environments,’’ said Barbara Mazzolai and Virgilio Mattoli of Italy’s Institute of Technology Centre for Micro-BioRobotics, who were not involved in the study.
But if you take these robots out of factories and put them in real world, things start to get dicey. They don’t do so well on rough terrain or in changing conditions. And they aren’t especially safe around humans, because they’re made out of hard parts and can’t accurately adjust the force they wield.
Building a completely soft robot has remained a challenge, because engineers have had trouble building soft versions of certain essential parts, such as the control system and the power source.
Researchers from Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering managed to do just that. Octobot’s moving parts are connected to a network of channels that send liquid fuel (a hydrogen peroxide solution) to mix with a platinum-based catalyst in certain reaction chambers. As the fuel decomposes, it releases pressurised oxygen that inflates the actuators, allowing the octobot to move.
These movements are controlled by a series of logic gates – basically a fluid-filled version of a circuit board. The scientists managed to create this complex system using several techniques, including 3D printing.
‘‘Although soft robotics is still in its infancy, it holds great promise for several applications, such as servicing and inspecting machinery, search and rescue operations, and exploration,’’ Mazzolai and Mattoli said.