Algae-powered soft robot arm uses light to grasp and lift small objects
Researchers at Delft University of Technology have developed a soft robot arm powered by light and covered in living microalgae. The device can perform delicate tasks like grasping and lifting small objects, demonstrating a new intersection between biotechnology and robotics.
Why it matters
This innovation represents a step toward sustainable, soft robotics that can interact gently with sensitive environments, such as underwater ecosystems.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add to Preferred Sources A collection of soft robot arms inside custom designed aquariums. Credit: Delft University of Technology / Studio Oostrum Tiny underwater algae sway gently in the current. All of a sudden, a light shines on them and they form robotlike arms that start to pick up small rocks and put them in floating baskets. Sounds like science fiction, but researchers from Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands) have created a small soft robot arm covered with minuscule algae that can grasp and lift objects. And it's powered by light. This next step in biotechnology has been published in Nature Communications .
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