Can the wonderful octopus help make wheelchairs obsolete?

There's a lot we can learn from the octopus. Scientists working in the field of soft robotics have been devising smart materials, smart skins and artificial muscles which move and work in novel ways – all taking a cue from how octopuses move. And by better understanding octopuses, engineers could soon transform the technologies available to people with disabilities. "Some of our smart skins are based on the skin of the octopus and the cephalopods," says engineer Jonathan Rossiter, head of the soft robotics group at Bristol Robotics Laboratory. They can change colour, change texture and radically morph their shapes.