How Soft Robotics is Changing Clothing | TechnoLogic

We dive into the exploding field of soft robotics, zooming in on “robotic textiles.” These fabrics might one day enable anything from shape-changing smart clothes to strength-enhancing exosuits.
Subscribe to MOTHERBOARD: bit.ly/Subscribe-To-MOTHERBOARD
Follow MOTHERBOARD
Facebook: / motherboardtv
Twitter: / motherboard
Tumblr: / motherboardtv
Instagram: / motherboardvice
More videos from the VICE network: www. vicevideo

[@ram.4152]

A soft robot suit for paralyzed people will be amazing

[@spencermartin7582]

Soft prosthetics are blowing up big time

[@Finer_Details]

@@spencermartin7582 Hopefully not literally

[@sasnad3]

That's right

[@vanniyo8988]

Why not hard? Is not like they are going to feel it

[@iche9373]

Curing paralyzed people will be amazing

[@openstylelab239]

Thank you for including us in this wonderful look into how soft robotics can enhance disabled people's lives! Accessibility is cool :)

[@Aeraleach]

no

[@wasd3108]

yea, no, niche market

[@Aeraleach]

@@wasd3108 ...and also accesibility is uncool

[@signal0001]

@@wasd3108 lol ur such a contrarian that you say niche market to a non profit

[@izzatihassan1475]

Inspired by Sailormoon, grows up and goes to research robotic textile. Way cool!

[@AerialTheShamen]

Baymax is closer.

[@quite1enough]

Imagine soft materials in cars, planes and other vehicles, that could absorb the force from the impact, potentially making any vehicle crash related injures a past tense. Not exactly the absolute of soft robotics, but combination of partially this, partially some smart new materials.

[@ericlotze7724]

1:30 A Kniterate is in the background ! Good to see that device is finally being used by people!

[@Malcadon]

I like what Cutie Honey did way more (another anime title but from the '70s). Basically a teenage girl discovers she is an android who can transform into other girls with "Honey" in the name, each with a new appearance and skills, including her badass ginger-haired super-heroin form Cutie Honey. The show notes that micro-machines within her body can convert the elements around her, like the food she ate, her own clothing and the vary air & moisture around her and re-materialize it all into new clothing, gear and a physical form. She also require A LOT of food to be able to transform, and without it, she might be force to revert back naked. (If it seems like there is a lot of nudity, this was a creation of Go Nagai. Despite this, she is remembered fondly as Japan's own Barbie/Wonder Woman.)

[@LargeBlueCircle]

the real cool application of these are in synthetic muscle-fiber structures- good for prostheses and human-like robots. Very exciting technology

[@rapeyadamswolfvillediddler3526]

Could certainly lighten the weight of nearly any modern task robot.

[@Iffyish]

This is pretty dang cool, actually. Of these robots, I've only heard of the vine one. Thank you for the comprehensive video👍

[@goose4342]

So the Spartan suit from Halo is a possibility is what you're saying.

[@JohnnyWooh]

the potential of this tech is insane! this is actually something i look forward to because seemingly small achievements should accelerate the overall progress quite rapidly

[@Miloshe71]

This is a great opportunity for a company like old navy to take these ideas to the mainstream.

[@edward8459]

Is this the next level of Techwear?

[@nat_the_gray]

Imagine your clothes strangling you to death

[@Youtubeuser1aa]

They already do that because FOOD

[@htopherollem649]

or immobilizing you for easy retrieval if you run afoul of the powers that be!

[@jackjac]

Never thought someone would say that Sailor Moon inspired them in their scientific choices...love it!

[@series1054]

The power of anime..

[@Vysair]

Gundam next! We gotta get those mech to be real for planetary construction (or moon)

[@mrad69]

I’m going to share this video, with my little sister. She loves, Sailor moon.

[@nipsnaps22]

That does. Sound, like a wonderful; idea.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Huh

[@azimalif266]

Have you seen Gantz the anime? They wear something like soft robots to enhance strength. Their suits look like soft robots.

[@howtomeetwomen-]

My friend's leg brace has given her a permanent skin ulcer, so I think about this kind of thing a lot. There ARE solutions, but she can't afford any of them.

[@kentneumann5209]

That's a sad but common thing in the US. Canada has universal free healthcare for all. As do many other 1st world western countries.

[@davidhaas3111]

The cool thing about soft robotics is that a lot of soft robots are made by pouring silicone into a mold, using a 3D printer to print the wiring and gas channels and they use arduino circuit boards. Silicone is cheap-ish, arduino circuit boards are dirt cheap, and 3D printers of all varieties are getting cheaper fast. So maybe someday soon we will be able to manufacture soft robots at home with a little know how and a bit of savings instead of an entire fortune.

[@checkmatefurries286]

underwear...imagine the possibilities

[@DetroitFettyghost]

Lol. I thought, and thought, and then I came.... said the guy in robowear

[@souravresearch6221]

Great to know about it, I am working on Soft Robotics for Aerospace & Medical applications. Thanks for the video

[@laurenz1337_]

Dynamic clothing would be soo cool to have in the future. I hope this happens sooner rather than later. Keep it up science people!

[@mreyes8519]

When I’m 75 I’ll be sure to wear my circulation enhancing body suit under my clothes

[@PhillipAmthor]

4:03 can we please appreciate this moment

[@Nikki-ec1zb]

This is amazing✨

[@sweetwetsugarmess]

You could potentially use these for climbing shoes if you give them haptic feedback when you touch the hold. It’d help people with nerve damage caused by foot/ankle trauma.

[@PristinePerceptions]

Could you add details about where to find more information about these products/projects in your description?

[@scottredding2719]

Soft robot sounds like a dystopian novel

[@adamgibson473]

Robot love you long time

[@mrad69]

Or a human pleasure tool😎

[@ChrisBarringer]

Bad robots inbred cousin

[@rrpearsall]

However if you add moist and tight... it sounds like an utopian Novel

[@scottredding2719]

@@rrpearsall hahahaha

[@Ghost-ru4oz]

I'm suprised they never went in this direction in the first place. Looking at muscle tendons and ligaments. Soft robotics is the way to go.

[@azielfernandez4916]

So awesome

[@moistdaddy451]

Soft is the "new" Hard..... 🤔

[@plantiron]

Ohhh... blue pill makers bout to panic

[@brucewayne2255]

The future is wild.

[@killmeister2271]

imagine google knowing exactly what position your arms and legs are in at all times and using that data to advertise to you

[@scunny]

One day they'll make a material that's identical to skin and brain tissue and then we realise as humans we were robots all along that can reproduce 😂

[@KAMI__KITSUNEE]

*title trying to rope me in to watch* Me: you had me at robotics ;)

[@Sloth-ZA]

came for the title stayed for the feet

[@Aeraleach]

@@Sloth-ZA dude lol

[@silkyrobinson5079]

I’m not even gonna watch this the title freaks me out enough

[@adamlove706]

Imagine Raiden body suit :) I think it would be 🔥

[@ChrisBarringer]

And we thought shell suits in the 90’s were cool til they got near fire 😂

[@Samuel-ht7dp]

1. They ARE cool. 2. No clothing (other than firefighter uniforms) is really friends with fire. 3. THEY ARE COOL!!

[@SanDiego619RS]

Everything comes out, no one can afford it.

[@BananaBLACK]

If you use kinetics and body heat you could definitely get rid of the need for a power supply.

[@animewhisperer1830]

Rando: I grew up watching anime Me: ME!!! 😂

[@TRUEROOTS2022]

Could listen to Vanessa All Day 💕

[@kentneumann5209]

Finally! I might be able to buy a Cherry 2000 before I die! Picture a robot chic that can do all that and more!

[@ianosf]

Haha, The cartoon of robot picking people head is very funny

[@ourparanormalworld]

I WAS BORN WITH MODERATE-SEVERE CEREBRAL PALSY HIP DYSPLASIA, FUSED RIBCAGE, COMBINED SCOLIOSIS AND RARE FORM OF CEREBRAL PALSY CALLED SPASTIC DIPLEGIA. I CAN DO SOME THING'S FOR MYSELF, BUT WHEN I GET MUSCLE WEAKNESS, PARALYSIS, OR SPASMS, LIFE IS MORE DIFFICULT. I'M DOWN WITH THE SUPER COLD AT THE MOMENT AND MY WEAKENED IMMUNE SYSTEM DOESN'T HELP, BUT I WOULDN'T MIND CLOTHES THAT GIVES ME A BIT MORE FREEDOM ,AS I'M GETTING MORE LIKE AND NEEDLES IN MY EXTREMITIES.

[@larrycchambers6838]

It would be nice to have a soft robotics suit that, under computer controlled electric stimulation, could either harden itself into a substance as hard as armored steel, or as soft as silk.

[@CIARUNSITE]

Can't wait for these to be prescription only medical devices that cost $27,000.

[@DetroitFettyghost]

"the future will be great, cures for all, amazing tech that's accessible, all kinds of great things". If you can afford it-which barely no one will be able to

[@OmniversalInsect]

We just have to wait for when/if they are developed for mass consumption

[@boomerisadog3899]

I could probably get back some of the lost function in my legs (I've had 4 back surgeries) if I could afford stem cell therapy. It wouls help tremendously with the pain, at the very least. Unfortunately, things like that are reserved for the very wealthy. The rest of us plebs just get what we got. I keep telling myself that some other people have it so much worse but knowing that other people suffer more doesn't really make me feel better. I am grateful for what I have but it sucks knowing that the only thing between me and a much better quality of life is $.

[@sashypooh409]

@@boomerisadog3899 Hmm I'm interested in stem cell therapy but it seems like it's only legal overseas from the US. Here in the US I think you can only get it in trials. They rarely do trials that I've seen publicized...

[@AerialTheShamen]

The first digital wristwatch was in the price range of a car and unrepairable. Nobody ever thought that digital watches can ever become a 2€ item, and the underlying technology (SMD electronics) became the base of how almost every electronic device is constructed now.

[@cisco555]

So it what they’re saying is we could have a real life baymax

[@jamesmaynard9128]

Your insurance won't cover it I'm sure

[@Montalveaux]

All of that is fun until you accidentally press a button and find yourself naked during a speech

[@Selena_2002]

I want a dr. strange cape 🙂

[@finx2much]

I was hoping for more demonstrations of cool robots and insight. Not a 'sailor moon ' chit chat. I'm thinking this is supposed to be a female focused STEM video. But maybe then in being offensive, I dunno. I'm lost

[@nicholasc5740]

Just watch the demons at big shoe corps (Nike, Adidas, etc) snag up the patent, give it some wacky quirky stylish name, and charge absurdly expensive prices for them

[@2soups895]

Wow imagine having an itch and you could never scratch it. I'd be asking people on the street to do it for me. I can barely scratch my own back as it is and it freaks me out. Tapioca pudding is good tho. So we will see

[@shanav3325]

Wow

[@sneedsfeed757]

Man listening to the first girl destroyed all my hope on exosuits for military

[@emptyboxesandrooms]

Lol 4:10 that wink

[@Pozorrogo]

"soft robotics" a i r p u m p

[@motownhillbilly7665]

Robotic condom would be next level.

[@nuclearnadal7993]

Please build me a baymax with both the happy and angry cards.

[@drwho7597]

Wow Gelareh has got me crushing big time! She's stunning I could watch her all day!.....

[@matthewwelch3257]

We are literally makeing the t900 skin

[@Noobgirl9]

Nomatter what the technology is,, nothing beats Bulldozer in any life saving situations.

[@lilchinesekidchen]

Fighting evil by moonlight….

[@davidho1258]

"vine" robots

[@rickv9180]

I'd rather not have a potential murder robot as my bed

[@worldbestt-shirtshoodie-go6184]

I think CDProject Red or DeusEx game company did developped cheap robotic arm to print and use also exist.

[@SrikiranRai]

Big Hero 6, is that you?

[@benwoodley4431]

Well what’s he wearing now, surely he’s done changing

[@CurtisDensmore1]

"...to help shed stigmas around some of today's mobility devices." What exactly are you talking about?

[@sizanogreen9900]

A lot of older people i.e. stubbornly refuse using a wheelchair and similar devices because they and others percieve them as a shame/signal of having become useless and/or refuse admitting that they can't do stuff like they used to, even though they are suffering a lot by doing so.

[@Ash-vy4dc]

She might have been referencing pneumatic devices or wheelchairs perhaps

[@CurtisDensmore1]

@@sizanogreen9900 What you're saying makes a lot of sense. To me, "stigma" isn't the right word to use for that situation. I interpreted what the video said as the general public looking down on someone for using a mobility device that they need, which I've never observed.

[@Kenabukanyo]

If anyone would start building prostetics in their garage just for the sake of helping with no financial benefit , that person would be assassinated .

[@divanp9691]

I'm glad I'm young enough to experience this Faustian tech revolution and old enough to not experience it's inevitable catastrophic consequences.

[@mwanikimwaniki6801]

"Faustian"

[@divanp9691]

@@mwanikimwaniki6801 Did I misuse the term/concept or do you believe that our relationship with technology isn't akin to a Faustian bargain?

[@mwanikimwaniki6801]

@@divanp9691 Doesn't seem Faustian when we are probably left with no option.

[@divanp9691]

@@mwanikimwaniki6801 Ah, I see where you're coming from. Currently I don't have any other way of explaining or articulating it but I believe that ultimately our endeavors in technology will come with great benefits but at the sacrifice of our humanity. Not to mention the fact that as a fundamentally flawed species we're destined to create corrupt societies(through our institutions) which, I believe will be exaggerated with the use of certain technologies, further increasing inequality and discrimination(not on the basis of race but class) furthering our disconnect from our human or "animal" roots. Which I'm probably wrong but that's the way I see things.

[@mwanikimwaniki6801]

@@divanp9691 As a guy working on such tech I could tell you that you're not far off from the truth. As a matter of fact, you are eerily close to the reality.

[@johnmulcahy9903]

Id like a t-shirt that changes colour if im hunched over too much during my day.

[@gpjclarke]

Did I hear Bo Burnham's Facetime with my mom?

[@bev8200]

Hands free flesh light will be the death of marriage

[@hinxlinx]

As predicted in Back to the Future Part II, wearable technology should be more advanced by now.

[@entropyofme]

Exactly what I came to the comments for. Your jacket is dry.

[@gerryakbar]

How can anybody wants a robot change your clothe?

[@govind9402]

It early even for a news cowarage.

[@greenbackz]

imagine how this will revolutionize sex toys / sex dolls lol.

[@MrHound-yj3rj]

So we can make the iron man suit a reality?

[@LexMc0606]

POSSIBLY. There will be many bugfixes that need to be implemented before it can be released to the general public, but God damn you gotta give em credit. The other thing that's REALLY important, these can help people who are handicapped walk again! That is an INCREDIBLE feat of science, because that means that they are able to walk again without surgery! So to answer your question, if we get these released to the general public, then so many disabled people will get back so many motor functions, and a lot more Sci-Fi elements will become a reality, yes.

[@mr.johndoe2659]

A movie-like Ironman suit with its capabilities won't be possible for decades and even then it will most likely be a military weapon

[@LexMc0606]

@@mr.johndoe2659 That part was INCREDIBLY obvious. There's no such thing as phaser beams yet, we have jetpacks but not in that way, and many many MANY other capabilities of it are not a thing yet. We're just saying that it's a very neat idea.

[@mr.johndoe2659]

@@LexMc0606 and I agree I simply just stated my opinion as you did

[@williamhuang5329]

Hanzhen harmonic drive gear , strain wave gear, over 30 years experinece

[@noble20xx56]

Imagine "Smart clothes".

[@begone6450]

Deeznutz

[@user-gk2cg2th9h]

I've had the idea of soft robot tech for vr haptic feed back gloves, I think it would be a really compact way to accomplish a realistic resistance

[@madisonw1191]

could be war of the worlds but neat

[@Henryprofile.]

Just wait till they figure out how to apply nano technology paired with ai to materials like textiles and metals.

[@angiebega2444]

😊👍

[@BostonTech]

life is supposed to be hard .

[@Community-Action]

Combine a ridged robot with a soft robot..

[@davidhaas3111]

Getting some serious doc ock vibes…

[@ltlbuddha]

Hello? Baymax

[@lilqueso8190]

So i get to have a pulsating fleshlight....yooooi

[@blankpublications5449]

Check out Orochimaru!

[@birdgangrydaman]

The beginning of enhanced sex robots

[@hawaiian_hugo_stiglitz7583]

Resistance training sounds interesting.

[@ZanderSabbag]

The world wasn't designed. It's not that they didn't account for disabled people, they didn't really account for anyone. Most stuff just ended up being done.

[@PlanetJigobotTV]

Big Hero 6.

[@swankyb9454]

Amazing and depressing at the same time because you know this tech will end up being used for sex dolls

[@aaronperez971]

Oh wow. This will never be weaponize. But that’s ok because it will be offset by all the wonderful promises

[@SailorSlay]

SAILOR MOON 🌙!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@scottredding2719]

One

[@thugnificent_69]

Pants that pinch ur gooch

[@jgreed5]

Fx2 movie