Control and Functionality of Octopus Arms and Suckers

Despite recent advances in the field of soft robotics, localized actuation, sensing, and control remain inadequately addressed. While soft robots offer advantages in adaptable configurations and deformation, they still lack precision, speed, and output force. The octopus is an exemplary model for the design of soft robots, offering solutions to such obstacles, with its powerful and agile arms and dexterous, highly precise suckers. Octopus arms are muscular hydrostats, achieving movements through the conservation of volume, yet the forces they can exert through their arms and suckers are impressive. The knowledge obtained about the sensing, actuation, and control mechanisms of octopus arms and suckers will greatly assist in implementing the distributed control of soft robot arms. This review highlights the key structure–function relationships of octopus arms and suckers, and how they have inspired the field of soft robotics.