SoftBodied

In the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders, doctors will sometimes implant arrays of stimulating electrodes on the surface of a patient's brain. A new soft robotic system allows those electrodes to be placed far less invasively than ever before.The problem with implanting a whole group of linked electrodes lies in the fact that a relatively large portion of the skull has to be removed (and then replaced) in the process. Needless to say, it would be much better if just a small hole could suffice.With…

Between 540 million and 485 million years ago, during the Cambrian period, so many new, complex animal life forms arose that paleontologists speak of the Cambrian Explosion or the Biological Big Bang. But by 400 million years ago, almost all of those species disappeared, eventually replaced by the ancestors of most modern animals. There have been few clues about what happened in between, but fossils from 462 million years ago recently discovered in a quarry in…

by Satavisa Pati December 7, 2022 Columbian researchers have come up with a soft-bodied robotFor a soft-bodied robot to be practical, it must be simple, light, and energy-efficient yet reasonably quick. A newly developed mechanism fits the bill, inspired by the humble hair clip. If you’ve ever messed around with a hair clip, you may have noticed that it can be popped back and forth between two stable configurations – essentially concave and convex states. Very much inspired by that functionality, a team of scientists…