{"id":107667,"date":"2020-12-16T15:14:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T20:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/?p=107667"},"modified":"2020-12-16T15:14:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T20:14:53","slug":"how-pole-beans-inspired-this-soft-robotic-gripper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/how-pole-beans-inspired-this-soft-robotic-gripper\/","title":{"rendered":"How pole beans inspired this soft robotic gripper"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Illustration of the twining motion in a twining plant (left); Spiral soft robotic gripper before actuation (center); Actuated soft spiral gripper holding a flower. | Credit: University of Georgia College of Engineering<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Scientists often look to nature for cues when designing robots \u2013 some robots mimic human hands while others simulate the actions of octopus arms or inchworms. Now, researchers in the University of Georgia College of Engineering have designed a new soft robotic<\/a> gripper that draws inspiration from an unusual source: pole beans.<\/p>\n

While pole beans and other twining plants use their touch-sensitive shoots to wrap themselves around supports like ropes and rods to grow upward, the UGA team\u2019s robot is designed to firmly but gently grasp objects as small as 1 millimeter in diameter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had tried different designs but we were not happy with the results, then I recalled the pole beans I grew in our garden few years ago,\u201d said Mable Fok, an associate professor and the study\u2019s lead author. \u201cThis plant can hold onto other plants or rope so tightly. So, I did some research on twining plants and thought it was a good design from nature for us to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a new study published in the journal Optics Express<\/a><\/em>, the researchers say their soft robotic spiral gripper offers several advantages over existing robotic devices.<\/p>\n

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