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New Online Toolkit to Assist Users in Design & Fabrication of Soft Robotic Devices

Soft robotics are ideally suited for interactions with humans, from assisting with daily activities to performing minimally invasive surgery. Harvard University's Soft Robotics Toolkit is a new online resource of downloadable, open-source plans, how-to videos, and case studies to assist users in the design, fabrication, modeling, characterization, and control of soft robotic devices. It will provide researchers with a level of detail not typically found in academic research papers, including 3D models, bills of materials, raw experimental data, multimedia step-by-step tutorials, and case studies of various soft robot designs. By creating a common resource for sharing design approaches, prototyping and fabrication techniques, and technical knowledge, the toolkit's developers hope to stimulate the creation of new kinds of soft devices, tools, and methods.