MORE | Summer 2022

Use of Octopus Arm Muscle for Bioinspired Soft Robotic Arm

The purpose of the octopus project research at the BIRTH Lab is to determine the functionality of each muscle layer in an octopus. Electromyography (EMG) signals are quantitatively analyzed for complex motions of the electrically stimulated arm. This opens possibilities for engineering a bio-inspired soft robotic arm. The research team is currently running experiments in which an amputated octopi arm is suspended in water and electrically stimulated. EMG signals are collected by bipolar probes in the neural cord and main muscle fibers. Parallelly the statistical analysis of data is being processed to determine parallels in muscle functionality for specific types of movements.