Part of the versatility of the human hand's ability to pick up almost anything comes from being able to apply a gentle touch for frail or oddly-shaped objects. That's something robots struggle with, particularly when functioning autonomously, and unfortunately the solution could lie with an unorthodox gripper design that looks straight out of a horror movie. It seems fitting that researchers from Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences should reveal their new gripper design so close to Halloween as it takes inspiration from bizarre sea creatures like octopi and jellyfish that rely on groups of long tentacles and filaments to ensnare and reel in prey for consumption. The giant squid has long been a mysterious creature of ocean lore, so why not recreate one in a lab setting? Taking inspiration from animals to build robots designed to accomplish a specific task is far from a new idea.