Tentacle-like robotic arm uses the granularity of coffee
MAY 14, 2015
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028879
BBC : A new robotic arm has been developed by Tommaso Ranzani of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy, and his colleagues. The device lacks a rigid skeleton, similar to the tentacles of octopi. Inflatable compartments surround a central tube filled with coffee grounds. As compartments are inflated and deflated to change the length and bend of the arm, suction is applied to the central tube, which causes the granular material to “jam” and the arm to become rigid. Ranzani’s team hopes to develop the arm for use in surgical systems.
© 2015. American Institute of Physics