Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Robotics

Generation soft

Meet the octobot, the first robot to be made entirely from soft materials. Powered by a chemical reaction and controlled by a fluidic logic circuit, it heralds a generation of soft robots that might surpass conventional machines. See Letter p.451

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The octobot.

L. K. Sanders, R. Truby, M. Wehner, R. Wood & J. Lewis/Harvard Univ.

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. Pfeifer, R., Lungarella, M. & Iida, F. Science 318, 1088–1093 (2007).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Rus, D. & Tolley, M. T. Nature 521, 467–475 (2015).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Wehner, M. et al. Nature 536, 451–455 (2016).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Mazzolai, B., Margheri, L., Cianchetti, M., Dario, P. & Lasch, C. Bioinspir. Biomim. 7, 025005 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Lin, H.-T., Leisk, G. G. & Trimmer, B. Bioinspir. Biomim. 6, 026007 (2011).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Shepherd, R. F. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 20400–20403 (2011).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Heckele, M. & Schomburg, W. K. J. Micromech. Microeng. 14, R1–R14 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Qin, D., Xia, Y. & Whitesides, G. M. Nature Protocols 5, 491–502 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Wu, W., DeConinck, A. & Lewis, J. A. Adv. Mater. 23, H178–H183 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Paul, C. Robot. Auton. Syst. 54, 619–630 (2006).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ranzani, T., Gerboni, G., Cianchetti, M. & Menciassi, A. Bioinspir. Biomim. 10, 035008 (2015).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Park, Y.-L. et al. Bioinspir. Biomim. 9, 016007 (2014).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara Mazzolai.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Artificial intelligence: Robots with instincts

Biomimetics: Flying like a fly

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mazzolai, B., Mattoli, V. Generation soft. Nature 536, 400–401 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/536400a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/536400a

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing