Researchers have developed stretchable, pocket-sized robots which could crawl up walls and across ceiling to clean them, for environmental monitoring and deployment in hazardous environments. Published in the journal Soft Robotics, the study from University of Bristol in the UK describe how a robot made from the skin, called "ElectroSkin", can be scrunched up, put in one's pocket and then later pulled out and thrown on a surface where it moves. ElectroSkin is a new fundamental building block for a range of soft next-generation robots. "ElectroSkin is an important step toward soft robots that can be easily transported, deployed and even worn. The combination of electrical artificial muscles and electrical gripping replicated the movements of animals like slugs and snails, and where they can go, so could our robots," said study researcher Jonathan Rossiter, Professor at University of Bristol.