It is reported that researchers at Cornell University in the United States have developed a new type of manipulator that can grasp objects lightly and even feel the shape and material of objects with the help of soft robotics.

While traditional manipulators need to be made of conductive materials, the new manipulator, called Gentle Bot, incorporates optical waveguide technology to sense its surroundings using light.

The key to this technology allows the robot to autonomously sense curvature, pressure and elongation. Inside the Gentle Bot's fingers are flexible tubes that conduct light waves, so-called optical waveguides. When the entire manipulator comes into contact with an object, the optical waveguide bends, distorting the light signal, allowing the manipulator to move with the fingers. Through these changes, the data of the objects touched by the manipulator can be obtained, so that the robot can better simulate the human sense of touch.

Although the optical waveguide has been born as early as the 1970s, the manufacturing cost is high and the process is very complicated. However, the emergence of soft etching and 3D printing technology has reduced the difficulty of development of this technology, making it suitable for soft robots.

The prospects of Gentle Bot in the field of prosthetics are very obvious, and the prospects for commercial, medical and manufacturing applications are even broader. But the inventors of the technology also hope to develop bionic robots that can explore spaces humans can't go to.