01. Soft electronics are changing the way robots can touch. EPFL Scientists have developed a new soft robotic gripper - made out of rubber and stretchable electrodes - that can bend and pick up delicate objects like eggs and paper, taking robotics to a whole new level. Have you ever rubbed a balloon in your hair to make it stick to the wall? This electrostatic stickiness called electroadhesion may change robotics forever. EPFL scientists have invented a new soft gripper that uses electroadhesion: flexible electrode flaps that act like a thumb-index gripper. It can pick up fragile objects of arbitrary shape and stiffness, like an egg, a water balloon or paper. This lightweight gripper may soon be handling food for the food industry, capturing debris in outer space or incorporated into prosthetic hands.
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