Robotic Octopus Arm

From Reuters, Feb. 17: A soft-bodied robotic octopus arm has been created by scientists in Italy. The waterproof limb is designed to mimic an octopus appendage as a model for underwater rescue robots of the future. British surgeons believe the technology could also be applied to an endoscope that can perform surgery. Report by Jim Drury: Transcript: This robotic octopus arm isn’t just a fancy gadget. It’s part of a project to create a full-bodied synthetic sea creature which could be used to save people trapped underwater. The arm was built by scientists at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna near the coast of Tuscany. Professor Cecilia Laschi heads the team. Cecilia Laschi, Associate Professor of Biorobotics at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna: “The usual robotic vehicles that you use in the sea cannot usually go very close to the bottom. Instead the [...]