Summary: Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology develop a soft robotic arm with tactile suction cups capable of autonomous object manipulation in complex environments.

The Bioinspired Soft Robotics laboratory at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), led by Barbara Mazzolai, has developed an octopus-inspired soft robotic arm capable of sensing contact, estimating force intensity and direction, and autonomously grasping objects, even underwater. The research, published in Nature Machine Intelligence, marks a significant advance in soft robotics, combining flexible materials with bioinspired design.

The robotic arm is equipped with artificial silicone suction cups that incorporate miniaturized optical sensors. When a cup contacts an object, deformation changes the reflection of internal LEDs, allowing the system to measure force and direction. These signals are processed by a distributed control system, coordinating the suction cups and arm movements, including bending, twisting, and wrapping, to grasp objects effectively. The system can detect very weak stimuli and operate both in air and underwater.

IIT’s approach integrates soft robotics and bioinspiration. Soft robotics uses deformable materials for natural interaction with environments and humans, while bioinspiration draws on biological systems to develop innovative technologies. The octopus-inspired design is particularly suited to this approach, as the animal’s flexible arms and sensitive suction cups, combined with a distributed nervous system, allow for complex, autonomous object manipulation.

The research builds on prior studies at IIT, including computational modeling to optimize cable placement for natural movement and the development of 3D-printed soft endoskeletons that implement complex pathways while preserving softness. The latest system translates these biological strategies into a modular robotic architecture that combines distributed tactile sensing and decentralized control.

The arm’s modular design allows easy adjustment of suction cup number and arrangement to suit different applications. Potential uses include handling fragile objects, managing biological samples, and performing inspection or maintenance in challenging underwater or industrial environments. Future work aims to expand the arm’s payload capacity and adaptability, paving the way for robots capable of operating autonomously in complex, hard-to-reach spaces.