Scientists inspired by the octopus’s nervous system have developed a robot that can decide how to move or grip objects by sensing its environment.
The team from the University of Bristol’s Faculty of Science and Engineering designed a simple yet smart robot which uses fluid flows of air or water to coordinate suction and movement as octopuses do with hundreds of suckers and multiple arms.
The study, published today in the journal Science Robotics, shows how a soft robot can use suction flow not just to stick to things, but also to sense its environment and control its own actions—just like an octopus. A single suction system enables the robot to grab delicate items, sense whether it’s touching air, water, or a rough surface, and even predict how hard something is pulling on it—all at once, without needing a central computer.
Lead author Tianqi Yue explained: “Last year, we developed an artificial suction cup that mimicked how octopuses stick to rocks using soft materials and water sealing.
“This research brings that work on, from using a suction cup like an octopus sucker to connect to objects to using ‘embodied suction intelligence’ – mimicking key aspects of the neuromuscular structure of the octopus in soft robotic systems.”
The suction intelligence works at two levels: by coupling suction flow with local fluidic circuitry, soft robots can achieve octopus-like low-level embodied intelligence, including gently grasping delicate objects, adaptive curling and encapsulating objects of unknown geometries. By decoding the pressure response from a suction cup, robots can achieve high-level perception including contact detection, classification of environment and surface roughness, as well as prediction of interactive pulling force.
This simple and low-cost suction intelligence could lead to a new generation of soft robots that are safer, smarter and more energy-efficient. Potential uses include picking fruit gently in agriculture, handling fragile items in factories, anchoring medical tools inside the human body, or creating soft toys and wearable tools that can interact safely with people.
The team are currently working on making the system smaller and more robust for real-world use. They also aim to combine it with smart materials and AI to improve its adaptability and decision-making in complex environments.
“It’s fascinating how a simple suction cup, with no electronics inside, can feel, think and act—just like an octopus arm,” concluded Tianqi. “This could help robots become more natural, soft and intuitive to use.”
Paper:
‘Embodying soft robots with octopus-inspired hierarchical suction intelligence’ by Tianqi Yue, Chenghua Lu, Kailuan Tang, Qiukai Qi, Zhenyu Lu, Loong Yi Lee, Hermes Bloomfield-Gadȇlha, and Jonathan Rossiter in Science Robotics.
