A squishy robotic “eye” can focus automatically in response to light, without any external power. The ultrapowerful robotic lens is sensitive enough to distinguish hairs on an ant’s leg or the lobes of a pollen grain.
The lens could usher in “soft” robots with powerful vision that would not need electronics or batteries to operate. Soft robotics can be used in a wide range of different applications, from wearable technology that can integrate with the human body to autonomous devices that can operate in uneven terrain or hazardous spaces, said study first author Corey Zheng, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Traditional, electrically powered robots use rigid sensors and electronics to see the world.