Elephant Trunk-Inspired Robots Link Up to Grab and Carry Objects

Fort Collins, United States – Engineers at Colorado State University have built flexible, snake-like robots inspired by elephant trunks that can bend, grip objects and connect to each other to form bigger shapes.

Video released by the university on Wednesday, November 11, shows the white robots wrapping around a ball and a box, reaching over a ledge and a large pipe, and joining up end to end to form chains and loops.

The robots use a design called tensegrity, with stiff rods held in place by tensioned cables, which lets them bend and change shape. Gripping claws at both ends allow them to hold objects or latch onto partner robots, the university said.

"They are very adaptable to the situation and goals," said Associate Professor Jianguo Zhao, whose team described the robots in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence. The team hopes they could one day help with space exploration or search and rescue.