An octopus-inspired robot that can decide how to move or grip objects by sensing its environment has been developed by a team of scientists from the University of Bristol.
According to its developers, the robot relies on fluid flows of air or water to coordinate suction and movement as octopuses do with hundreds of suckers and several arms.
Source: Tianqi Yue/University of Bristol
The team noted that the soft robot can use suction flow not just to adhere to things, but to also sense its environment and control its actions, much like an octopus.
The single suction system reportedly allows the robot to grasp delicate items, to determine if it is touching air, water or a rough surface, and predicts how hard something pulls on it, simultaneously and without the need for a central computer.
"Last year, we developed an artificial suction cup that mimicked how octopuses stick to rocks using soft materials and water sealing. This research brings that work on, from using a suction cup like an octopus sucker to connect to objects to using 'embodied suction intelligence' — mimicking key aspects of the neuromuscular structure of the octopus in soft robotic systems," the researchers added.
Specifically, the suction intelligence works by coupling suction flow with local fluidic circuitry. This enables the soft robot to achieve octopus-like low-level embodied intelligence — such as gently grasping delicate objects, adaptive curling and enveloping objects of indeterminate geometries.
Decoding the pressure response from a suction cup reportedly enables robots to achieve high-level perception, such as contact detection, classification of environment and surface roughness, in addition to the prediction of interactive pulling force.
The team of scientists believe that this so-called suction intelligence could potentially lead to a new generation of soft robots that are safer, smarter, more energy-efficient and capable of picking fruit gently in agriculture, handling fragile items in factories, anchoring medical tools within the human body or manufacturing soft toys and wearable tools that can interact safely with people.
An article detailing the team’s work, “Embodying soft robots with octopus-inspired hierarchical suction intelligence,” appears in the journal Science Robotics.
