In a laboratory,a robotic arm slowly reached toward a raw egg yolk in a bowl. Researchers held their breath,afraid the delicate yolk membrane would break. Yet the suction cup at the arm's tip gently attached,lifted,and released — the yolk remained intact,without a single mark.

This"gentle hand"comes from the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences. The team developed China's first adaptive hydrogel-based bionic suction cup,allowing robots to finally master"gentle grasping".

Each of an octopus's arms is covered with hundreds of suction cups that can firmly attach to wet,rough,or porous surfaces. Flexible and deformable,they act like cushions,gripping securely without harming their prey. Researchers aim to replicate this"smart touch",enabling robots to grasp gently.

To achieve this,the team chose hydrogel,a jelly-like soft material that can deform,sense,and recover — ideal for bionic suction cups. They designed a supramolecular hydrogel using strong and weak hydrogen bonds,making it soft yet tear-resistant. With 3D printing,they produced suction cups with curvature membranes and tiny channels,allowing adaptive attachment and gentle grip on various surfaces.

This bionic suction cup can be mounted on robotic arms to safely grasp ultra-soft objects like silken tofu or egg yolks. Its potential applications are wide-ranging: collecting fragile samples in deep-sea exploration,non-invasive attachment or surgical assistance in medical settings,and handling delicate parts in flexible manufacturing.

From mimicking octopuses to surpassing them,this"soft suction cup"is helping robots become smarter — and gentler.