Remember those toys that sprang up into the air after you pushed them down? They're called poppers, and they've inspired an actuator that could one day allow soft-bodied robots to jump across rough ...

Although soft-bodied robots show great promise for tasks such as squeezing through tight spaces, it's a bit counterproductive if their soft appendages are moved by hard actuators. A new technology ...

(Nanowerk News) In an age where robotics are seamlessly integrating into daily life, a team of researchers at Zhejiang University, China, has achieved a remarkable breakthrough. Their latest creation, ...

Inexpensive robots of all forms are on the rise. Meka uses compliant actuators called series elastic actuators (SEAs) in nearly all joints of its robotic systems. A spring between motor and load ...

While advances in machine learning may make the robot apocalypse seem imminent, we can at least rest easy knowing that these robots are still too clunky and too slow to really chase us down. But, that ...

Researchers have developed a soft robot capable of crawling like a worm, climbing cables, and rapidly changing shape to shift directions—all powered by a single air input. Soft robots are flexible but ...

Soft robotics and actuator systems represent a transformative approach to machine design by replacing rigid components with compliant, deformable materials. This paradigm shift draws inspiration from ...

(Nanowerk News) Sea cucumbers have a bumpy and oblong shape. They are soft but stiffen up quickly when touched. They can shrink or stretch to several meters, and their original shape can be recovered ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated miniature soft hydraulic actuators that can be used to control the deformation and motion of soft robots that are less than a ...

Engineers have developed a way to build soft robots that are compact, portable and multifunctional. The advance was made possible by creating soft, tubular actuators whose movements are electrically ...

Repeated activity wears on soft robotic actuators, but these machine's moving parts need to be reliable and easily fixed. Now a team of researchers has a biosynthetic polymer, patterned after squid ...