Category: soft robot

Researchers built a breakdancing, light-powered hydrogel robot

Researchers at Northwestern University have created a dime-sized robot that looks like an animal you might find at the bottom of the sea. The soft robot is almost 90 percent water by weight. It has a hydrogel exterior while its nickel skeleton allows… Source

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New 3D printing technique could make shapeshifting robots more practical

It just got a little easier to create soft robots that adapt to the world around them. Rice University researchers have developed a 3D printing technique (they call it “4D”) for material that automatically changes to an alternate shape when subjected… Source

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This flexible robot is a speedy runner — and not a bad swimmer

Soft robots have been a booming category for research and manufacturing in recent years, due to a number of beneficial characteristics. The field has become increasingly important to things like robotic graspers, which rely on their compliance to pick up fragile objects like fruit. Speed, on the other hand, doesn’t…

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Soft robots can now run like cheetahs and swim like marlins

Robots today generally come in one of two varieties: rigid and soft. When most people imagine a robot, they think of the rigid variety, like Boston Dynamics’ Spot or those found on auto assembly lines. Soft robots, on the other hand, tend to mimic bi… Source

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Scientists can 3D print insect-like robots in minutes

It might soon be relatively trivial to make soft robots — at least, if you have a 3D printer handy. UC San Diego researchers have devised a way to 3D-print insect-like flexible robots cheaply, quickly and without using exotic equipment. The trick was… Source

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