Octopus-inspired gripping mechanism

The robotic arm takes its design cue from the octopus, which captures prey by wrapping its flexible tentacles around it rather than using a rigid claw or gripper. Mounted on a drone, the 1-meter arm wraps around target objects to secure them in mid-air, an approach that differs from conventional drone manipulators built around pincers or suction mechanisms.

The research, published in Device, includes figures showing the arm's structure and its gripping action as demonstrated on a drone platform. The soft, wrapping grip is intended to let the drone handle objects of varying shapes without needing a specialized end effector for each one.

Aerial manipulation applications

A long, compliant arm carried by a drone extends the reach of aerial robots, allowing them to grasp objects while keeping some distance from the target — useful in scenarios where a flying robot must avoid collisions or disturb the surroundings as little as possible.

The published materials document the arm operating while attached to a drone, showing the wrap-around grip in action. Details such as payload capacity, flight endurance, and intended deployment scenarios were not specified in the source materials.

The claim that a drone has been equipped with a 1-meter robotic arm that grips like an octopus by coiling around objects is True.