A rubbery little"octobot" is the first robot made completely from soft parts. The octopus-like robot is made of silicone rubber and measures about 2.5inches wide and long. The rubbery little "octobot" is the first robot made completely from soft parts, according to a new study. The tiny, squishy guy also doesn't need batteries or wires of any kind, and runs on a liquid fuel.
The octopus-like robot is made of silicone rubber, and measures about 2.5 inches (6.5 centimeters) wide and long. The researchers say soft robots can adapt more easily to some environments than rigid machines, and this research could lead to autonomous robots that can sense their surroundings and interact with people.Conventional robots are typically made from rigid parts, which makes them vulnerable to harm from bumps, scrapes, twists and falls. These hard parts can also hinder them from being able to squirm past obstacles. Increasingly, scientists are building robots made of soft, elastic plastic and rubber, designs inspired by octopuses, starfish and worms. These soft robots are generally more resistant to damage, and can wriggle past many of the obstacles that impair hard robots.However, soft robots were previously limited by rigid batteries or wires needed to power the bots. Now, "we are very excited to present a completely soft, untethered robot," said study co-lead author Michael Wehner, a research associate in materials science and mechanical engineering at Harvard University. "As the field of soft robotics continues to rapidly expand, we feel that our work will allow the field to rapidly move forward in a whole new direction."
The octobot has eight arms (hence the name) that are pneumatically driven by steady streams of oxygen gas. This gas is given off by liquid hydrogen peroxide fuel after it chemically reacts with platinum catalysts.
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