Stanford engineers have prototyped and tested a flexible, soft growing robot that can deploy sensor networks for investigation in constrained spaces (see video below). Existing sensors for growing robots have focused on moving with the tip of the robot.
Stanford researchers have developed a technique to interpret contact events between a human and a device equipped with a force sensor. It can detect and classify distinct touch interactions such as tap, touch, grab, and slip.
Researchers at Stanford and UC Santa Barbara have developed a new type of robot combining traditional and soft robotics, making it safe but sturdy. Once inflated, the human-scale pneumatic robot can change shape and roll without being attached to a source of energy or air.
Researchers in Professor Zhenan Bao's group at Stanford University have developed a biomimetic soft electronic skin (e-skin) with multiple levels of biologically inspired patterning that can detect the direction of applied forces.
Stanford researchers at the Cutkosky Lab have patented a method of towing or pushing an object using a micro-robot. This micro-robot can drag loads almost 2000x its weight by using controllable dry adhesive for robotic "feet" that can develop huge amounts of shear force.
Stanford researchers at the Cutkosky Lab have patented a low cost, passively activated gripper that can grasp large curved, textured or delicate objects using an adhesive film.