Soft robotic hand shows skills playing Super Mario Bros

The feat from researchers at the University of Maryland demonstrates an innovation in the field of soft robotics, which centres on creating flexible, inflatable robots that are powered by water or air. The inherent safety and adaptability of soft robots has generated interest in their use for applications in prosthetics and biomedical devices but controlling the fluids that make these soft robots bend and move has been problematic.

According to the university, the key breakthrough, led by University of Maryland assistant professor of mechanical engineering Ryan D. Sochol, was the ability to 3D print fully assembled soft robots with integrated fluidic circuits in a single step. The team’s findings have been published in Science Advances.

"Previously, each finger of a soft robotic hand would typically need its own control line, which can limit portability and usefulness," said co-first author Joshua Hubbard. "But by 3D printing the soft robotic hand with our integrated fluidic transistors, it can play Nintendo based on just one pressure input."