Recently, foreign scientists have created a soft-shell robot driven entirely by vacuum, which can achieve various tasks by sucking and removing air, such as climbing vertical walls and grasping objects. In order for the robot to move, the internal air must be sucked from all parts. Inspired by the contraction of human muscles, when its vacuum characteristics are activated, the components of a single soft part are activated.

This kind of soft-shell robot can grasp objects by suction or stick itself to a smooth surface, and can accomplish various tasks at the same time, thanks to its unique vacuum characteristics. This kind of robot can be used to perform different tasks, and has the characteristics of high modularity and multi-function. It will have wide application prospects in the research and industrial fields. "What we have is a fully functional robot driven entirely by vacuum, which is an unprecedented experience." Matt Robertson of EPFL Switzerland said.

"We have previously shown individual components that are also driven by vacuum, but have never been used in a completed system." Robertson said. Vacuum power assembly is a complement to this kind of robot, and more importantly, it is very safe in use. At present, most of the robots on the market operate by exerting pressure, such as continuously injecting air into the interior. Of course, this kind of high-pressure drive will also bring security risks, in extreme cases there will be the possibility of explosion.

By contrast, vacuum-driven power plants are not only safe and soft, but also easy to build. Jamie Paik, a scientist at EPFL, said: "More importantly, our soft architecture is plug-and-play, so we can assemble robots that perform different tasks through the same module." They can be reassembled to meet different requirements, such as crawling, grabbing containers, and vertical crawling.


If it is composed of five modules, it can move like a tentacle; when the four modules are combined, it can catch an object and throw it at a target. The three modules allow the robot to crawl on the ground, while the two modules can be used as pads and fixed on a smooth surface like glass. Researchers say that this kind of robot will have great application prospects in mobile and industrial fields in the future.