# 189: The Squishiness Factor

- Show: [Embedded.fm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm)
- Published: 2017-03-02
- Length: 1h 14m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-03-02-189-the-squishiness-factor
- Listen: https://makingembeddedsystems.libsyn.com/189-the-squishiness-factor

## Summary

Carrie Love, a collaborator at the soft robotics consultancy Super-Releaser, explains the principles of soft robotics, distinguishing between pneumatic, hydraulic, and bio-inspired systems. She details the design of the Glaucus soft robot, a single-cast silicone quadruped, and discusses the challenges of non-linear behavior and manufacturing consistency. Love also describes her process for creating edible soft robots, exploring materials like licorice and fruit leather to actuate candy-based mechanisms.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-03-02-189-the-squishiness-factor#t=6) Introduction: Carrie Love and Super-Releaser
- [3:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-03-02-189-the-squishiness-factor#t=185) Defining Soft Robotics and the Baymax Inspiration
- [8:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-03-02-189-the-squishiness-factor#t=480) Material Properties: Flexibility, Densitometry, and Elasticity
- [12:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-03-02-189-the-squishiness-factor#t=768) Prototyping Soft Actuators: Spirals and McKibben Muscles
- [26:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-03-02-189-the-squishiness-factor#t=1573) Applications: Wearables, Warehousing, and Environmental Constraints
- [37:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-03-02-189-the-squishiness-factor#t=2237) Creating Edible Soft Robots: Materials and Specs
- [59:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-03-02-189-the-squishiness-factor#t=3572) Learning Soft Robotics: Casting, Libraries, and Cross-Disciplinary Design

## Topics

- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Super-Releaser (company)
- Glaucus (product)
- Final Frontier Design (company)
- Jim Henson company (company)
- NYU (other)
- Instructables (other)
- thing averse (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Episode Seventeen – Bioinspired Robots: learning from nature](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-06-13-episode-seventeen-bioinspired-robots-learning-from-nature) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode Twenty-Seven: Simon Wanstall](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-11-25-episode-twenty-seven-simon-wanstall) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode Forty-Five: Francesco Giorgio-Serchi](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-04-21-episode-forty-five-francesco-giorgio-serchi) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode 96: Soft robots in medicine and healthcare - Maria Elena Giannaccini](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2024-11-01-episode-96-soft-robots-in-medicine-and-healthcare-maria-elena-giannaccini) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode 113: Soft robotic hands - Kaspar Althoefer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2025-03-14-episode-113-soft-robotic-hands-kaspar-althoefer) (Robot Talk)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-03-02-189-the-squishiness-factor. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Embedded.fm.