Remote-controlled robot arms allow submersible operators to perform tasks underwater. But can you imagine a rigid metal limb interacting with something as fragile as jellyfish or corals? To be able to capture or interact with marine life, scientists need something softer that can touch delicate living things without squishing them to death. That’s why a team of scientists from Harvard’s Wyss Institute has developed a soft robotic arm that can “move with unprecedented dexterity to grasp and sample delicate aquatic life.”
Scientists from the institute have been developing soft robots for marine research for quite some time. This particular creation’s a bit cooler than the others, though: it’s controlled by a glove equipped with wireless sensors, so scientists can channel Tony Stark and wave their hand around to control the machine. They can bend and rotate the arm simply by moving their wrist, and they can open and close the robot’s grippers by curling their index finger. The method gives them more control over the machine than, say, a remote controller or a joystick can.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!