At the end of last year, Chinese scientists published an article about the creation of a new robotic "tentacle" capable of grasping and transporting heavy loads.
The core of the new development – named SpiRobs – is a logarithmic spiral. As is often the case, the creators borrowed the concept from nature: the researchers mimicked the gripping strategy of an octopus, drawing inspiration from its tentacles and their ability to adapt to objects of various shapes.
The main advantages of the development include its low manufacturing cost based on 3D printing, a simple actuation mechanism based on two or three cables, scalability, and the potential to create multi-robot arrays. This approach proved promising for gripping both large and small objects without damaging them.
The developed technical solution became the subject of a patent application filed in May 2022, resulting in the issuance of Chinese patent CN 114770585 (B), published in October 2023.
Another similar device, consisting of identical square elements, was patented in China in 2024 (CN 115194801). This mechanism is capable of grasping objects in confined spaces, large items, and objects with special shapes.
Other Chinese scientists also patented a robot (CN 111152248) that can grasp items by “winding” itself around them. This robot is pneumatically controlled using airflow within the gripping element.
Researchers are not only focused on transporting large objects using robots but are also exploring manipulation in the microscopic world. For instance, a patented micro-tentacle robot (US11197726 (B2), published on December 14, 2021) can grip extremely small, soft, and fragile objects, such as an egg of Mallotus villosus or an ant. Because the force exerted by the robot allows for manipulation without damaging the object, this micro-tentacle can be used for biomedical purposes – for example, in endovascular surgery.
Meanwhile, scientists in Australia have come up with a flexible robot combined with a 3D printer. While it can’t “grasp” anything, this robot can be extremely useful in minimally invasive surgeries, such as those involving the stomach or intestines. It is capable of printing using “biological ink” – biomaterials containing living cells – directly at the surgical site inside the body. This reduces the risk of infection compared to traditional procedures, where the graft is first printed and then inserted into the body. The elongated flexible part of the robot manipulator is hydraulically controlled using microtubules filled with water. Naturally, the researchers did not forget to patent their invention: the application was published under number WO 2024156028 (A1) in 2024.
If you’ve developed something promising yourself – don’t sit idle! Grab the opportunity to profit from it and file a patent application! The team of patent attorneys at Lexpatent LLC are here to help.
ave. Nezavisimosti, 56-302 Minsk, Belarus, 220005
mon-fr: 9.00 - 18.00
