Exploring Concepts From Soft Robotics

• Paper title: 
• FBG based shape sensing of a silicone octopus tentacle model for soft robotics 
• Publish date: 
• 2018
• Researchers:
• Lead researcher: Lianqing Zhu
• Other researchers: Wei Zhuang, Guangkai Sun, Hong Li, Xiaoping Lou, Mingli Dong
• Institute: 
• Hefei University of Technology, China
• Beijing Information Science & Technology University
• Beijing Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Measurement Technology
• What is this:
• This research focuses on shape sensing for soft robotics inside of the silicone octopus tentacle model. Specifically they used Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors.
• It explores how FBG sensors can track the bending and deformation of the tentacle when actuated by air pressure.
• What is FBG:
• type of optical sensor embedded in optical fibers that reflects specific wavelengths of light while allowing others to pass. It is widely used for strain, temperature, and shape sensing in various applications, including soft robotics, medical devices, and structural health monitoring. ( Based on ChatGPT) 
• Potential Applications:
• Surgical Robots, wearable sensors, and anything irregularly shaped that needs to be grasped and manipulated
• How it works:
• Like an octopus! But with interpolation algorithm to calculate how much it needs to bend
• system measures wavelength shifts in the optical fiber to calculate curvature
• Why interesting:
• Bio-inspired Design
• Real time active sensing
• Original Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003040261830425X?casa_token=aleTQvc3T1YAAAAA:VyTtx7mCuN2_BjzM-4Qe1WN3R5hI5mAh1zadhIGiJXKYJJroFndDNmhsHxcfJpml5rOaiu0