遇到Octobot呢这个惊人的机器人是第一个自主，完全软机器人，是由哈佛大学研究人员团队创建的。
The Octobot is inspired by octopuses, and could revolutionize they way humans interact with machines. Until now, soft bodies robots have had to be tethered to an off-board system or rigged with some hard components, like batteries and circuit boards. Creating entirely soft robots was extremely challenging, and according to the researchers has never been achieved before. The Octobot changes this.
The team behind Octobot
Wyss核心教师罗伯特·伍德（Robert Wood）博士和詹妮弗·刘易斯（Jennifer Lewis）领导了该项目。他们分别是查尔斯河工程和应用科学教授，也是哈佛大学约翰·鲍尔森工程和应用科学学院（SEA）的HansjörgWyss生物学启发工程学教授。八杆在期刊中描述自然，，，，并且已经受到好评。
“对软机器人技术领域的一个长期愿景是创建完全柔软的机器人，但是斗争一直是用类似的软系统代替诸如电池和电子控件之类的刚性组件，然后将所有系统放在一起，然后将其放在一起。”said Wood.“This research demonstrates that we can easily manufacture the key components of a simple, entirely soft robot, which lays the foundation for more complex designs.”
“Through our hybrid assembly approach, we were able to 3D print each of the functional components required within the soft robot body, including the fuel storage, power and actuation, in a rapid manner,”刘易斯说。“ Octobot是一个简单的实施例，旨在展示我们的集成设计和添加剂制造策略，以嵌入自主功能。”
How does Octobot work?
Harvard’s Octobot is pneumatic-based, meaning it is powered by gas under pressure. A reaction inside the bot transforms a small amount of liquid fuel (hydrogen peroxide) into a large amount of gas, which flows into the Octobot’s arms and inflates them like a balloon. The reaction is controlled by a 3D-printed microfluidic logic circuit – described as a “soft analogue of a simple electronic oscillator” – which controls when hydrogen peroxide decomposes to gas.
“Fuel sources for soft robots have always relied on some type of rigid components,”Wyss研究所的博士后研究员，在木材实验室，本文的联合第一作者中说，迈克尔·韦纳（Michael Wehner）说。“过氧化氢的奇妙之处在于，化学和催化剂之间的简单反应（在这种情况下是铂）使我们能够替代刚性的功率来源。”
“整个系统很容易制造，通过结合三种制造方法 - 柔软的光刻，成型和3D打印，”刘易斯实验室的研究生瑞安·特鲁比（Ryan Truby）说，该论文的合着者。“We can quickly manufacture these devices.”
“这项研究是概念的证明，”Truby said.“We hope that our approach for creating autonomous soft robots inspires roboticists, material scientists and researchers focused on advanced manufacturing.”
该团队希望创建一个可以游泳和爬行的Octobot，并与环境互动。
该论文由Wyss研究所的Daniel Fitzgerald和康奈尔大学的Bobak Mosadegh合着。这项研究得到了哈佛大学的材料研究科学与工程中心的支持。
About the Institutes involved
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciencesserves as the connector and integrator of Harvard’s teaching and research efforts in engineering, applied sciences, and technology. Through collaboration with researchers from all parts of Harvard, other universities, and corporate and foundational partners, they bring discovery and innovation directly to bear on improving human life and society.
The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University开发bioinsp使用自然的设计原则ired materials and devices that will transform medicine and create a more sustainable world. Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing that are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and formation of new startups. The Wyss Institute creates transformative technological breakthroughs by engaging in high risk research, and crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers, working as an alliance that includes Harvard’s Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Arts & Sciences and Design, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston University, Tufts University, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, University of Zurich and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Featured image: Lori Sanders
