A glove that imitates octopus tentacles has been developed

A team of researchers led by Michael Bartlett of Virginia Tech has developed a glove inspired by

octopuses, capable of reliably grasping objects underwater. Their research was published in the journal Science Advances on July 13. Discuss

In water, the human hand is ill-equipped to hold objects. Anyone who has tried to restrain a writhing fish will attest to this.

"Nature already has some greatsolutions, so our team turned to the natural world for ideas. The octopus was an obvious choice for inspiration.", – says Bartlett, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

The design of the suction cups on the gloves was createdto perform the same function as an octopus' suction cup – Activating a secure attachment to objects with light pressure, ideal for adhering to both flat and curved surfaces.

Having developed adhesion mechanisms, they alsoneeded a way for the glove to sense objects and activate sticking. To do this, they added an array of micro-LIDAR optical sensors that determine how close an object is. The suction cups and LIDAR were then connected via a microcontroller to interface object detection with the activation of the suction cup, thus simulating the nervous and muscular systems of an octopus.