The video above demonstrates a nifty educational resource developed at the Harvard Biodesign Lab for the developers of the soft robotics field.
Watch pressurized “fingers” bend around objects, a soft rubbery thing crawl across the table on its own and some stretchy stuff stretching, while being live-configured through computer interface. We’re sure it has a lot of very technical, very important uses.
The Soft Robotics Toolkit is a collection of shared resources to support the design, fabrication, modeling, characterization, and control of soft robotic devices … The ultimate aim of the toolkit is to advance the field of soft robotics by allowing designers and researchers to build upon each other’s work. The toolkit includes an open source fluidic control board, detailed design documentation describing a wide range of soft robotic components (including actuators and sensors), and related files that can be downloaded and used in the design, manufacture, and operation of soft robots. In combination with low material costs and increasingly accessible rapid prototyping technologies such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC mills, the toolkit enables soft robotic components to be produced easily and affordably.
(GIF: Prosthetic Knowledge)
