Elephants' trunks are capable of grasping a single blade of grass but can also carry nearly 600 pounds. They are inspiring the next generation of bio-inspired robots.
Some quotes from the article:
“Elephants' trunks are both delicate and sturdy -- they are capable of grasping a single blade of grass but can also carry nearly 600 pounds. And scientists argue that these versatile trunks -- called proboscis -- are incredible inspiration for the next generation of bio-inspired robots.”
“In new research published in Current Biology, Milinkovitch's lab explained how elephants can move their trunks with almost infinite degrees of freedom, combining about 20 basic movements to carry out more complicated manoeuvres.”
“"There's a very fine control over what part of the trunk is contracting," Milinkovitch said. "It's not the whole trunk that is elongating and shortening -- it's portions, depending on what the elephant is doing."”
“The study data will be used to help design an innovative "soft" robotic arm, which is being developed alongside researchers from Italy's Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Pontedera and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, as well as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and 3D printing company Photocentric. "It's a new paradigm in robotics," Milinkovitch said. "Instead of using metallic segments connected by articulations, the idea is to have objects that are moving but they are made of flexible materials."”
“The project is also spurring advancements in material science, as researchers have developed a new material that mimics the useful properties of elephant skin and can be 3D printed for robotic prototypes. "You will have something that can deal with high payloads and small payloads. From an industrial point of view, it could have a great impact," Beccai said, adding that the new materials and technologies will be commercialized for a wide range of uses.The team envisions the soft robotic arms they are creating will be able to work on factory production lines, be utilized for search and rescue operations, or even be used in the healthcare field to lift and assist elderly patients.”
