Medical robots go soft [News]

The inside of the human body is mostly squishy (that's a technical term), and our soft innards don't always fare well when hard objects are placed inside. Not only can sharp edges damage organs and blood vessels, but the body's defense system can also surround the foreign object with scar tissue and interfere with its intended function. So researchers are working on soft robots that may be better tolerated within the body, permitting machines to make intimate contact with human tissue without jeopardizing safety. These three experimental bots are designed for different purposes-two are implants, one is a potential surgical tool- but they all showcase a gentler kind of robotics, enabled by new materials and flexible actuators.