Canon PowerShot S100
ƒ/2.2
5.2 mm
1/30
80
a fun tour of Otherlab with Saul Griffith today. As sensors and computation drop in cost, control of non-linear systems becomes more tractable, allowing light and soft fabrics to come alive… There are no rigid structures in these arms and actuators, just variable air pressure in sewn pouches.
It has a strength-to-weight ratio 10-100x better than hard robots. This 2 pound arm can lift 6 pounds.
A key insight from nature: compliance can substitute for mass. Trees survive a storm better than telephone poles.
Here is a short video I took of earlier versions of it in action at Google X. It gives a good handshake.
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