Peripheral control enabled by distributed sensing in an octopus-inspired soft robotic arm for autonomous underwater grasping

Nature Machine Intelligence 2026 Open access

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Authors: Emanuela Del Dottore, Romina Adhami, Ebrahim Shahabi, Emanuele Solfiti, Michele Martini, Stefano Mariani, Alberto Parmiggiani, Alessio Mondini, Edoardo Sinibaldi, Barbara Mazzolai
DOI: 10.1038/s42256-026-01230-y
Cited by: 1
References: 58

Abstract

Abstract Octopuses exhibit remarkable motor dexterity through distributed sensing and control in their flexible arms. Inspired by this biological model, we present a tendon-driven soft robotic arm featuring optoelectronic mechanosensors embedded in suction cups and a hierarchical behaviour-based control architecture. Each artificial sucker integrates light-emitting diodes and phototransistors to detect contact force and direction via light reflection, achieving high sensitivity (~400 mV N −1 in the 0–2-N range) and directional accuracy (error,

Fields of Study & Subjects

Soft Robotics and Applications Cephalopods and Marine Biology Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials

Publication details

Journal / source
Nature Machine Intelligence
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
8
Issue
5
Pages
708–721
Publication date
12 May 2026
Language
EN