Octa-Glove Puts the Power of Octopus' Abilities in Your Hands

Researchers from Virginia Tech have developed an octopus-inspired glove capable of gripping objects underwater that could benefit rescue divers, marine archeologists, salvage crews and more. Humans aren't exactly designed to thrive in underwater environments, considering we need air tanks to breathe, neoprene suits to keep us from freezing and goggles to see clearly while in aquatic environments. Our hands also have difficulty gripping objects beneath the waves, as anyone who has ever tried to grab a fish while swimming can attest.

To overcome that issue, the team took inspiration from nature to design gloves that can easily grip objects without crushing force, and what better than the octopus, which can latch onto anything with ease. Octopus tentacles are lined with suckers controlled by its nervous system and muscles, allowing them to latch on to rocky and smooth surfaces alike. The suckers feature an outer rim that makes a seal with an object, and once attached, the muscles contract and relax the cupped area behind the rim to add or release pressure.

The researchers modeled the Octa-Glove after those octopi suckers, which use rubberized stalks capped with soft, actuated membranes. Each sucker, shaped like the end of a plunger, provides a powerful snatching ability. But the researchers also needed a way to sense objects to trigger adhesion. To do so, they added an array of micro-LiDAR optical proximity sensors that can detect how close an object is in relation to the glove. The suckers and sensors were then tied into a microcontroller to marry object sensing and sucker engagement, mimicking the octopus's nervous system. According to its creators, the Octa-Glove could be utilized with soft robotics for underwater gripping, user-assisted technologies and health care, and in manufacturing for assembling and handling wet objects.

But, will they let me make octopus friends better?