Robotic Folding Sheet Adapts to Terrain and Grasps Items Using Built-in Sensors

New robotic sheet morphs in real time with heat and smart sensors

Built for crawling, gripping, and morphing mid-task, this flexible robot sheet could transform soft robotics, and emergency response tech.

Robotic folding sheet adapts to terrain and grasps items using built-in sensors

A flexible robotic sheet that can grasp objects and move across surfaces has been created by a team of researchers led by Jung Kim from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

Robotic sheet can fold, crawl, wave, with applications in exploration and healthcare

South Korean engineers have developed a flexible robotic sheet which can grasp objects and move across surfaces – useful skills for applications in healthcare, exploration and haptic displays where users can “feel” virtual stimuli. The design is detailed in a paper published in Nature Communications. Engineers have been developing flexible robots that can change shape for years. These robots, however, tend to require fixed hinge-like structures…

A robotic folding sheet could crawl its way into exploration and healt