MIT mechanical engineering researchers developed a flexible, wearable sheet embedded with bendable optical fibers that tracks its own 3D shape and detects external pressure, achieving error rates below half a centimeter in lab tests. The design uses rubber-cored fibers with roughened, dyed cladding to detect bending direction, and an LED-and-sensor setup paired with an algorithm reconstructs the sheet's shape in real time. The work was published in Advanced Intelligent Systems.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-18
Researchers at ETH Zurich's Soft Robotics Lab have built a robotic hand detached from any arm or body, capable of crawling across surfaces and balancing its own weight using its five fingers. The device manipulates objects and moves using only its digits, without the wrist and arm assembly typical of conventional robotic hands.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-28
A team at ETH Zurich's Soft Robotics Lab has built an off-the-shelf anthropomorphic robotic hand that can walk on its fingertips across multiple surfaces and type on a keyboard while supporting its own weight. The researchers say they largely avoided modifying the hand's fingers or built-in position controller, instead training the robot's behavior, though some physical modifications were needed for it to operate independently.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-27
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