Soft Robotics - The Next Industrial Revolution?

The robot dance has, since its inception in 1967, been a caricature of how robots move. Its imitation of the series of precise, linear motions with abrupt starts and stops is instantly recognizable. Despite a certain wavering in its popularity, it remains part of modern culture. What is so remarkable about the robot dance is that it mimics the movements and constraints of conventional rigid robots, a type of robot that is ubiquitous in automated manufacturing and object handling, and it could so easily have been invented now. It also strikingly shows that industrial robotics have relied on conventional hard technologies for more than 40 years and still does. However, this is about to change. The last few years has seen a rapid growth in soft robotics, technologies that are fundamentally different from their rigid counterparts. Soft robotics is set to have a major impact on all aspects of our society and industries, ranging from manufacturing and consumer devices to medical applications and wearable technology.