Robots turning soft

We see an increase in start ups which focus on the development of smart and soft robotics. Soft robotics are robots or automatons which are designed with softer materials and are able to make more flexible movements and are better in daily interactions with humans. Such a start up is Pneubotics which started two years ago.

Soft robotics are on the rise mean also that we see the need for different knowledge and people. No we see a robotics industry asking for a Sewboticist. Can you imagine that? This because soft robotics are sewed. So tomorrow’s robots may have more in common with beanbag chairs than hulking industrial arms in factories today. We are already seeing breakthroughs in the field of soft robotics. What to think of the famous steel skeletons and power-hungry motors being replaced by textiles. These first exoskeletons are beginning to move away from the science laboratory to the startup world. Or imagine an octopus like robot that can squirm through rubble at a disaster site and has the strength to pull bricks off an injured person. There is even a soft robotics which is able to safely place an elderly person in bed.

Will soft robotics be something interesting for the near future? We see several interesting organizations now working on the development of soft robotics. The US Defence and Research institute DARPA is for example working on the technology. And Gartner predicts that soft robotics could have a huge impact. “Soft robotics has the potential to influence all kinds of robotic and machine design. It’s a key development in the evolution of robotics. (Gartner)”. Allied Market Research estimates there’s a $10 billion market for industrial robots that can handle materials better than humans.

There are already some interesting example of the development of soft robotics. What to think of the famous steel skeletons with their power-hungry motors making way for textiles? The first exoskeletons are beginning to move from the laboratory to the startup world. Or imagine an octopus like robot that can squirm through rubble and small holes at a disaster site and has the strength to pull bricks off an injured person. Or a soft robot which is able to safely place an elderly person in bed. The start up we mentioned earlier in this article Pneubotics already put an industrial robot arm that has no motors, bearings, shafts, or other rigid parts into the market. It’s a shell of vinyl lined with veins and soft pressure vessels that hold air, water, or hydraulic fluid to work like muscles. And it is strong, very strong! In September, the two-year-old Boston startup Empire Robotics plans to start shipping the Versaball Gripper. A soft attachment to the hands of robots which enables the robot to pick up things without crushing it.

The far future will be robot which can change state by turning soft and hard. This means a wide new array of possibilities for robots. The future looks promising and for some scary.