Meet "Dart," a Robot Inspired by Creatures in Netflix's Stranger Things

In the video above, Joanna Thelen (ENG'20) and Hung-Ching Lin (ENG'20) demonstrate Dart, the Stranger Things-inspired gripping soft robot. From the slithering of snakes to the crawling of octopuses, the field of soft robotics has often taken cues from the natural world. Boston University's Morphable Biorobotics Lab--led by Tommaso Ranzani, a College of Engineering assistant professor in mechanical, materials science, and biomedical engineering--is doing just that with "Dart," a new soft robot whose nickname is inspired by its resemblance to creatures from the popular Netflix series Stranger Things. Soft rubber robots have been able to bend, warp, and move around in unique ways, but until now, they've rarely been able to grasp objects and move them from place to place. It can not only move around on its four legs, but can grip and lift objects with its unique six-fingered mouth.