1976 – Pneumatic Exoskeleton Prosthesis – Pierre Rabischong (French)

Revolutionizing Techniques of Orthosis and Prosthesis Professor Pierre Rabischong of the Montpellier Propara Centre watches as a female patient and her physical therapist use a machine developed by Professor Rabischong. This machine allows the patient in rehabilitation to maintain her balance while inciting her muscles to move. The system functions according to the master-slave concept. …

2011 – “Ant-Roach” – Otherlab (American)

Here is the Otherlab’s 15 foot inflatable walking robot, the Ant-Roach.  We thought this conceptual elephant looked more like a cross between an anteater and a cockroach.  The goal of building the Ant-Roach was to demonstrate the carrying capacity and high strength-to-weight ratios possible with inflatable structures. Comments November 21, 2011 by Travis Deyle of …

2011 – Inflatable Robot Arm and Hand – Otherlab (American)

Otherlab's prototype articulated inflatable robot arm,  is apparently able to lift a person with 50-60 psi even though it weighs only 2 pounds. All pictures and captions sourced from Otherlabs webpage unless noted otherwise. See Otherlabs webpage and other videos here. See other Pneumatic, Fluidic, and Inflatable robots here.

2010 – Soft Arm – Siddharth Sanan (Otherlab)

Siddharth Sanand: is doing his PhD at the Robotics Institute at CMU. He is interested in making robots soft and safe to enable physical human robot interaction. On the other side, he has been sewing together various ideas on inflatable robots and actuators.  Recently interned at Otherlab. All pictures and captions sourced from Otherlabs webpage …

2011 – Inflatable Walking Elephant – Otherlab (Saul Griffith)

Pneubot stands for "pneumatic robot", or a robot that is actuated by pneumatic technology. A pneumatic technology involves the use of compressed air to drive mechanical motion. The compressed air can be moved through soft, balloon-like tubes, which allows for both rigidity (when filled) and flexibility (when decompressed or empty). In this video, an elephant-shaped …