There are plenty of fancy soft robots for picking and placing items and other tasks. MIT”s transparent gel robots are quite special though. They are made of hydrogel and move as water is pumped in and out of them. They can kick a ball underwater or catch a live fish.
These robots are nearly invisible and ideal for underwater tasks. The team made several robots “including a finlike structure that flaps back and forth, an articulated appendage that makes kicking motions, and a soft, hand-shaped robot that can squeeze and relax.”
[HT]