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Flexible manipulator inspired by octopus: development of soft arms using sponge and experiment for grasping various objects

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Abstract

In this study, we focus on the intelligent behavior of an octopus and describe the development of a flexible manipulator. To realize the intelligent behavior, we employ sponges, rubbers and wires instead of electrical computers. The manipulator is controlled by the dynamics of the body such as the flexibility of the sponges, resilience of the rubbers and constraint by the wires. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed manipulator, we conducted experiment for grasping various objects. We confirmed that grasping behaviors similar to those of an octopus can be realized by the dynamics of the body without electrical computers.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by the Japan Society for the promotion of science through the Grant-in-Aid for scientific research (C) 24500181 and 15K00316.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hosei University, Koganei, Japan

    Kazuyuki Ito & Shunsuke Hagimori

Authors
  1. Kazuyuki Ito
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  2. Shunsuke Hagimori
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Correspondence to Kazuyuki Ito.

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Ito, K., Hagimori, S. Flexible manipulator inspired by octopus: development of soft arms using sponge and experiment for grasping various objects. Artif Life Robotics 22, 283–288 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10015-017-0360-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10015-017-0360-7

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