July 25, 2011Octopus Project creates robotic tentacle, full octobot on the way

The robotic tentacle, created as part of the Octopus Project (Photo: Massimo Brega)

Some living organisms feature an unusual muscle structure, which allows them to control the stiffness of their body, or various parts of it. Examples include elephants' trunks, our tongues, and octopus tentacles. Researchers working on the Octopus Project have so far successfully designed a robotic tentacle, with the ultimate aim of creating a full-bodied robotic octopus.

Why an octopus? According to the researchers, it has a number of characteristics that are interesting from an engineering point of view, such as an infinite number of degrees of freedom, various bending possibilities, controllable stiffness and high dexterity.

Such an octobot could be used in underwater search, rescue and exploration, Discovery News reports. "The applications we envisage are all the applications where you send the robot into very small spaces for exploration tasks but also for rescue under debris," stated team member Cecilia Laschi. British surgeons are also reportedly looking into applying the technology to an endoscope.

The working robotic tentacle prototype is approximately 17 inches (43 cm) long. The arm is fashioned from a central steel cable with a number of nylon cables attached to it, all of which are encased in a silicone skin. It's capable of grasping objects via manipulation of the cables, which allows it to stiffen around a target.

It's modeled after a real Mediterranean octopus.

The Octopus Project is an interdisciplinary initiative funded by the European Comission, and coordinated by the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna educational institute in Pisa, Italy. The full robotic octopus with eight arms is scheduled for completion by the project's deadline in January 2013.

章鱼计划创造的机器人触手

7月25日，2011Octopus项目创建机器人触手，在way

机器人触手全octobot，创建??为八达通项目的一部分（摄影：马西莫布雷加）

一些生物体功能一个不寻常的肌肉结构，这使他们能够控制他们的身体，或它的各部分的刚度。例子包括大象的树干，我们的舌头，和章鱼的触角。研究人员工作在八达通项目迄今成功地设计了一个机器人触手，以建立一个浓郁的机器人章鱼的最终目的。

为什么章鱼？根据研究人员，它有一个数字，是从上看，一个工程点有趣如无限多的自由度，各种弯曲的可能性，可控刚性和高灵巧特性。

这种octobot可在使用水下搜索，营救和探索，探索新闻报道。 “我们设想这些应用程序都在这里，你在废墟下派机器人到非常小的空间进行探索任务，而且也为救援申请，说：”小组成员张柏芝Laschi。英国外科医生据说也正在研究应用该技术的内窥镜。

工作机器人触手原型是大约17英寸（43厘米）长。臂从中央钢缆塑造与若干附加到它尼龙电缆，所有这些都装在一个硅氧烷皮肤的。它能够通过操纵电缆，这使得它变硬围绕目标抓的对象。

这是一个真正的地中海章鱼蓝本。

八达通项目是由??欧洲Comission资助的一个跨学科的倡议，并通过Scuola协调Superiore的圣安娜在比萨，意大利的教育机构。完整的机器人章鱼八臂预定于完成该项目的截止日期在2013年1月