Open-source platform simulates wildlife for soft robotics designers

Since the term “soft robotics” was adopted in 2008, engineers in the field have been building diverse representations of flexible machines useful in exploration, locomotion, rehabilitation, and even space. A team of MIT researchers has taken this a step further, developing SoftZoo, a bio-inspired platform that enables engineers to study soft robot co-design. As a result, users can design and move soft robots with more sophisticated, specified algorithms. Still, the limitations of current fabrication techniques stand in the way of bringing these soft robot designs to life. By including the simulation of more human-like tasks, soft robotics designers could then use the platform to assess soft robotic arms that grasp, move, and stack objects.