Engineering
Designing Soft Robots That Squeeze Through Tight Spaces
Quick fact
Soft robots made of silicone rubber can squeeze through openings only 10% of their normal cross-sectional area by using pneumatic pressure to drastically change their shape—a capability no rigid robot can match.
Why this is interesting
Imagine a robot that can flatten itself like a pancake to crawl under a door, then reinflate and keep moving. How do engineers make a machine that squeezes through gaps smaller than its own body?