Softer, Safer, Smarter: Robotic Hands Inspired by Nature

Robot arms can be found in many factories around the world. From the tiniest chip in a phone to the body of a car, robots are responsible for moving things around thousands of times a day. However, robots find themselves a bit stuck when dealing with more natural objects, such as fruits or vegetables. Their rigid bodies feel out of place amongst all the squishiness and different shapes and sizes of nature. One way to help solve that is by making robots softer. Soft grippers allow robots to delicately touch the world around them, grabbing fragile objects almost as easily as humans do. Many robots made of soft materials, called soft robots, are inspired by nature to help them interact with their environments. With hands made of softer materials, these robots are ready to help us not just in factories, but also in our daily lives. How are soft grippers created? What do they look like? In this article, we will explore the captivating realm of soft grippers!