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Morphological Computation: The Hidden Superpower of Soft-Bodied Robots

Posted by samzenpus on from the going-soft dept.

Hallie Siegel writes: Ever wonder why most robots are built with hard bodies? It's because they are easier to control that way. But now researchers are embracing the complexities of soft bodies, by using their complex dynamics as an asset for solving some of the control computation, instead of using digital computation to solve it. Not surprisingly, many soft robots are inspired by nature. Researcher Helmut Hauser talks about his research in 'morphological computation', including OCTOPUS, a bio-inspired robotic silicon arm.

5 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. First Tentacle! by MenThal · · Score: 5, Funny

    We all know where this is heading...

  2. Non-linear control by Puff_Of_Hot_Air · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This article is fascinating and also a bit surprising. Surprising that the engineering world is still trying to hang onto simplified digital linear control. The real world is non-linear and analog! Linear control makes things simple mathematically and deterministic, but it also extremely limiting. There is a reason that the natural world works in a fundamentally non-linear analog fashion, and that is because it's better. Want to know why mobile phones aren't the size of bricks anymore? It's because Chris Toumazou replaced all that clunky digital radio with vastly smaller more efficient analog circuits. It's also why deaf kids can get a fully embedded cochlea implant and not have to carry around a car battery. Digital is so last century people, it's time to embrace the analog renaissance!

    1. Re:Non-linear control by delt0r · · Score: 2

      Err no. Just because its digital does not make it linear or anything else. We use digital because it just works better, and is cheaper and is less susceptible to noise. Just because it is digital does not mean it has to be a power hungry i7 or something.

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  3. Re: pwm and motor loading by Puff_Of_Hot_Air · · Score: 2

    What the heck has this got to do with the article? The article is not concerned with the piss easy to model motor driven by "pulse width modulation" or anything so mundane. See that picture at the top? That is a balloon picking up a cup. A balloon. Model that with your little PID controller. This is talking about replacing all your silly actuators with their low degrees of freedom, and their pitiful centralised digital feedback controller, with a batshit insane pile networked springs (from a modelling view). The exact dynamics of your motor response look a little irrelevant in context.

  4. Old News by harshath.jr · · Score: 2

    I believe men everywhere have been embracing complex soft bodies since time immemorial...