Body/Brain Co-Evolution in Soft Robots

Autonomous Robots have achieved considerable results in a wide variety of domains, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of Mars, and yet many vital locations, particularly collapsed buildings and mines, remain largely inaccessible. In light of recent natural disasters in Haiti and Chile, there is a compelling need for more versatile and robust search and rescue robots. Imagine, for instance, a machine that can squeeze through holes, climb up walls, and flow around obstacles. Though it may sound like the domain of science fiction, modern advances in materials such as silk polymers (Huang et al., 2007) and nanocomposites (Capadona et al., 2008) such a “soft robot” is becoming an increasing possibility.