Although they're constantly improving, robots aren't necessarily known for their gentle touch. A new robotic system from MIT and Stanford takes a unique stab at changing that, with a robot that uses ...

Abstract: ‘‘Vine robots” are thin-walled, tubular, pneumatic soft robots that lengthen at their tips to navigate constrained and complex environments. Previous studies have already explored the ...

In the horticultural world, some vines are especially grabby. As they grow, the woody tendrils can wrap around obstacles with enough force to pull down entire fences and trees. Inspired by vines' ...

The researchers demonstrated that the vine robot can safely and stably lift a variety of heavy and fragile objects, like a watermelon. In the horticultural world, some vines are especially grabby. As ...

Abstract: Cosserat rod models are widely used to simulate, design, and control soft robots. The Cosserat framework accounts for bending, torsion, transverse shear, and elongation of a long, slender ...

Engineers have long looked to nature for smarter designs, but few inspirations are as unexpected as clingy garden vines. Now, researchers at MIT and Stanford have turned that botanical quirk into a ...

The new design could be adapted to assist the elderly, sort warehouse products, or unload heavy cargo. In the horticultural world, some vines are especially grabby. As they grow, the woody tendrils ...

The code is built using Python 3.10, and can be run under any environment with Python 3.8 and above. We require PyTorch >= 2.2.0 and CUDA >= 12.0 (It may run with ...