Octopus inspires new suction mechanism for robots

A new robotic suction cup which can grasp rough, curved and heavy stone, has been developed by scientists at the University of Bristol. The team, based at Bristol Robotics Laboratory, studied the structures of octopus biological suckers, which have superb adaptive suction abilities enabling them to anchor to rock. In their findings, published in the journal PNAS today, the researchers show how they were able create a multi-layer soft structure and an artificial fluidic system to mimic the musculature and mucus structures of biological suckers. The findings have great potential for industrial applications, such as providing a next-generation robotic gripper for grasping a variety of irregular objects. The team now plan to build a more intelligent suction cup, by embedding sensors into the suction cup to regulate suction cup’s behaviour.

Source: New Scientist