Octopus-inspired robot flexes its muscles
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.0210061
NPR : A newly built soft-bodied robot looks like a baby octopus and can wiggle its legs when fed a common household chemical. The so-called octobot comprises a 1-mm-thick flexible silicone wafer set inside a molded soft body made of a squishy material. The wafer is crisscrossed with channels, like the conductive tracks on a computer circuit board, through which a 50% hydrogen peroxide solution flows. The hydrogen peroxide reacts with platinum in the channels to form oxygen gases, which expand and flow into the robot’s legs, causing them to flex. Although the octobot’s movements are restricted to wiggling extremities, the prototype serves as a proof of concept for more complex soft robots, which could serve various purposes such as squeezing into tight spaces.
