Taking inspiration from nature, SEAS researchers designed a new type of soft, robotic gripper that uses a collection of thin tentacles to entangle and ensnare objects, similar to how jellyfish collect stunned prey. Alone, individual tentacles, or filaments, are weak. But together, the collection of filaments can grasp and securely hold heavy and oddly shaped objects. The gripper relies on simple inflation to wrap around objects and doesn’t require sensing, planning, or feedback control. Credit:

What is soft robotics? Learn about the difference between soft and hard robotics from members of University of Tulsa’s Biological Robotics team. You’ll also meet a soft robot named Squishy! Watch the video on our site: https://bit.ly/3VyDjDj To learn more about The University of Tulsa, click here: https://bit.ly/TheUniversityofTulsa | Study in the USA