Of on the greatest issues facing modern robotics is the inability to multi-task.<\/p>\n
“Most robots are designed to perform one very specific task and part of taking robotics to the next level is designing a multifunctional robot that can move with enough speed to make multifunctionality a desirable feature,” reports Motherboard<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n That is why a new approach to engineering robot muscles pioneered by researchers at Harvard\u2019s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences which allows for flexible, efficient circuitry is being heralded by roboticists as \u201cthe holy grail<\/a><\/strong>\u201d of the field.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think this has the potential to be the holy grail of soft robotics,\u201d said Mishu Duduta, a graduate student at SEAS and first author of the paper.<\/p>\n \u201cElectricity is easy to store and deliver but until now, the electric fields required to power actuators in soft robots has been too high.\u00a0 This research solves a lot of the challenges in soft actuation by reducing actuation voltage and increasing energy density, while eliminating rigid components.\u201d<\/p>\n The new technology is better explained in action. Check out the video below:<\/p>\n