at Virginia Tech says this ability inspired him to create tiny rubber suckers tipped with flexible membranes that can be activated to create suction and stick to objects.
His team created a wearable glove with a sucker and a micro-LIDAR sensor on each fingertip. The sensor detects the proximity of objects, while a microcontroller triggers the sucker when it is close enough to stick to the object. The prototype simply holds on to an object for a set number of seconds before releasing it, but Bartlett says that a more sophisticated control mechanism could be used so that a robot or human operator could pick up, manipulate and release objects at will.
“The glove was a natural starting point for us. I thought it would be neat to have octopus-like abilities on your hand,” says Bartlett. “But we could also make a [robot] arm which is more like a tentacle – we could actually make it very biomimetic.” Bartlett is keen to stress that suckers will not be a universal approach for all types of robotics, but says that they will offer unique abilities that fit certain applications well. He imagines that they could be used in manufacturing where fragile, wet or smooth objects are involved or even in some areas of healthcare.
Virgina tech makes smokes now?
you gotta lotta gall calling them octopus-inspired when there's only five fingers
Remind me, why am I following you again?
What are they planning to manipulate?