OCTOPUS Spin-out projects

The OCTOPUS soft robotics technologies are being exploited in biomedical applications, in building a soft endoscope for minimally invasive surgery (EU STIFF-FLOP IP, www.stiff-flop.eu), and for developing physical models and simulator of pre-term infants' lungs and oh human larynx.

The OCTOPUS soft robotics technologies are being exploited in marine robotics, as well, in building a soft robot for underwater explorations (PoseiDRONE Project, supported by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmi di Livorno).

In addition, the CFD-OctoProp project (Marie Curie Actions - European Re-integration Grants (ERG) aims to investigate the fluid mechanics involved with the propulsion and locomotion systems of cephalopods by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools.

The octopus arm is made more fascinating because of the presence of suckers, which represent a natural system performing adhesion on different terrains and substrates. The ongoing research at the CENTER FOR MICRO-BIOROBOTICS IIT@SSSA (CMBR) is based on the observation of the real animal and on the study of the morphology and mechanisms of suckers and arms in Octopus vulgaris. The robotic goal is to develop artificial adhesion mechanisms and robotic arms, drawing inspiration from this soft animal. This study offers potential cues for the development of innovative, bioinspired artificial adhesion strategies and devices able to outperform the ones currently available.

OCTOPUS is also contributing to the "Robot Companions for Citizens" (RoboCom) initiative.

Soft robotics is not just a new direction of technological development, but a novel approach to robotics, unhinging its fundamentals, with the potential to produce a new generation of robots, in the support of humans in our natural environments. Further reading: Soft Robotics at IEEE Robotics & Automation Society (RAS) Soft Robotics at the BioRobotics Institute

                   

Contacts: infoOCTOPUS