<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/sands-shift-in-a-glass-box-as-an-orange-robotic-worm-surfaces.gif?id=62162692&width=1200&height=800&coordinates=0%2C10%2C0%2C10"/><br/><br/><p>While there are many useful questions to ask when encountering a new robot, “can I eat it” is generally not one of them. I say ‘generally,’ because <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/edible-robots" target="_self">edible robots are actually a thing</a>—and not just edible in the sense that you can technically swallow them and suffer <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/magnetic-pill-sized-robot-cartwheel" target="_self">both the benefits and consequences</a>, but <em><em>ingestible</em></em>, where you can <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/edible-robots-2667244222" target="_self">take a big bite out of the robot</a>, chew it up, and swallow it.</p><p>Yum.</p><p>But so far these ingestible robots have included a very please-don’t-ingest-this asterisk: the motor and battery, which are definitely toxic and probably don’t taste all that good. The problem has been that soft, ingestible actuators run on gas pressure, requiring pumps and valves to function, neither of which are easy to make without plastic and metal. But in <a href="https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202509350" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a new paper</a>, researchers from <a href="https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dario Floreano’s Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at EPFL in Switzerland</a> have demonstrated ingestible versions of both of batteries and actuators, resulting in what is, as far as I know, the first entirely ingestible robot capable of controlled actuation.</p><hr/><p><br/></p> <p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="An ingestible actuator." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b38e0fbaf88c6867ac6ada8ff20fcde1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="ae250" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/an-ingestible-actuator.jpg?id=62176243&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">EPFL</small></p> <p>Let’s start with the battery on this lil’ guy. In a broad sense, a battery is just a system for storing and releasing energy. In the case of this particular robot, the battery is made of gelatin and wax. It stores chemical energy in chambers containing liquid citric acid and baking soda, both of which you can safely eat. The citric acid is kept separate from the baking soda by a membrane, and enough pressure on the chamber containing the acid will puncture that membrane, allowing the acid to slowly drip onto the baking soda. This activates the battery and begins to generate CO<sub>2</sub> gas, along with sodium citrate (common in all kinds of foods, from cheese to sour candy) as a byproduct.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-float-left rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="GIF of an ingestible battery operating." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f109514b330bcac5345549ab2b4262fc" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="a618d" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/gif-of-an-ingestible-battery-operating.gif?id=62177237&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit..." style="max-width: 100%;">EPFL</small></p><p><span>The CO2 gas travels through gelatin tubing into the actuator, which is of a </span><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/soft-selfhealing-materials-for-robots-that-cannot-be-destroyed" target="_self">fairly common soft robotic design</a> that uses interconnected gas chambers on top of a slightly stiffer base that bends when pressurized. Pressurizing the actuator gets you one single actuation, but to make the actuator wiggle (wiggling being an absolutely necessary skill for any robot), the gas has to be cyclically released. The key to doing this is the other major innovation here: an ingestible valve. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image rm-resized-container rm-resized-container-25 rm-float-left" data-rm-resized-container="25%" style="float: left;"> <img alt="GIF of an ingestible valve snap-buckling." class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="91676d61036ac723b5b557d07dd1b13c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="d39c6" loading="lazy" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/gif-of-an-ingestible-valve-snap-buckling.gif?id=62166207&width=980"/> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">EPFL</small></p><p><span>The valve operates based on the principle of snap-buckling, which means that it’s happiest in one shape (closed), but if you put it under enough pressure, it rapidly snaps open and then closed again once the pressure is released. The current version of the robot operates at about four bending cycles per minute over a period of a couple of minutes before the battery goes dead.</span></p><p>And so there you go: a battery, a valve, and an actuator, all ingestible, makes for a little wiggly robot, also ingestible. Great! But <em><em>why</em></em>?</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"> <span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c36608eec0754bd16ce2bd26e3562252" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2cr_xAcTTY4?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span> </p><p>“A potential use case for our system is to provide nutrition or medication for elusive animals, such as wild boars,” says lead author Bokeon Kwak. “Wild boars are attracted to live moving prey, and in our case, it’s the edible actuator that mimics it.” The concept is that you could infuse something like a swine flu vaccine into the robot. Because it’s cheap to manufacture, safe to deploy, completely biodegradable, and wiggly, it could potentially serve as an effective strategy for targeted mass delivery to the kind of animals that nobody wants to get close to. And it’s obviously not just wild boars—by tuning the size and motion characteristics of the robot, what triggers it, and its smell and taste, you could target pretty much any animal that finds wiggly things appealing. And that includes humans!</p><p>Kwak says that if you were to eat this robot, the actuator and valve would taste a little bit sweet, since they have glycerol in them, with a texture like gummy candy. The pneumatic battery would be crunchy on the outside and sour on the inside (like a lemon) thanks to the citric acid. While this work doesn’t focus specifically on taste, the researchers have made other versions of the actuator that were flavored with grenadine. They <a href="https://swissnex.org/news/first-tasting-of-the-robocake-epfl/" target="_blank">served these actuators out to humans earlier this year</a>, and are working on an ‘analysis of consumer experience’ which I can only assume is a requirement before announcing a partnership with Haribo. </p><p>Eatability, though, is not the primary focus of the robot, says PI Dario Floreano. “If you look at it from the broader perspective of environmental and sustainable robotics, the pneumatic battery and valve system is a key enabling technology, because it’s compatible with all sorts of biodegradable pneumatic robots.” And even if you’re not particularly concerned with all the environmental stuff, which you really should be, in the context of <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/otherlab-apsara-aerial-delivery-system" target="_self">large swarms of robots in the wild</a> it’s critical to focus on simplicity and affordability just to be able to usefully scale.</p><p>This is all part of the EU-funded <a href="https://www.robofood.org/research/" target="_blank">RoboFood project</a>, and Kwak is currently working on other edible robots. For example, the elastic snap-buckling behavior in this robot’s valve is sort of battery-like in that it’s storing and releasing elastic energy, and with some tweaking, Kwak is hoping that edible elastic power sources might be the key for <a href="https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/admt.202401230" target="_blank">tasty little jumping robots that jump right off the dessert plate and into your mouth</a>.</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p><a href="https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202509350" target="_blank">Edible Pneumatic Battery for Sustained and Repeated Robot Actuation</a>, by Bokeon Kwak, Shuhang Zhang, Alexander Keller, Qiukai Qi, Jonathan Rossiter, and Dario Floreano from EPFL, is published in <em><em>Advanced Science</em></em></p><p>.</p>

تم تطوير روبوت ناعم جديد قابل للأكل بنسبة 100%، بما في ذلك بطاريته. تتيح هذه الابتكار للمستخدمين ابتلاع الروبوت بأمان، حيث تم تصميمه ليكون قابلاً للاستهلاك دون مكونات ضارة. المشروع، الذي يعد جزءًا من مبادرة RoboFood، يشمل باحثين مثل داريو فلورانو وبوكين كواك من EPFL، مما يبرز التقدم في مجال الروبوتات القابلة للأكل.

Se ha desarrollado un nuevo robot blando que es 100% comestible, incluida su batería. Esta innovación permite a los usuarios ingerir el robot de manera segura, ya que está diseñado para ser consumido sin componentes dañinos. El proyecto, parte de la iniciativa RoboFood, involucra a investigadores como Dario Floreano y Bokeon Kwak de la EPFL, destacando los avances en la robótica comestible.

Un nouveau robot souple a été développé, entièrement comestible, y compris sa batterie. Cette innovation permet aux utilisateurs d'ingérer le robot en toute sécurité, car il est conçu pour être consommé sans composants nocifs. Le projet, qui fait partie de l'initiative RoboFood, implique des chercheurs comme Dario Floreano et Bokeon Kwak de l'EPFL, soulignant les avancées dans la robotique comestible.

A new soft robot has been developed that is 100% edible, including its battery. This innovation allows users to ingest the robot safely, as it is designed to be consumed without harmful components. The project, part of the RoboFood initiative, involves researchers like Dario Floreano and Bokeon Kwak from EPFL, highlighting advancements in edible robotics.

This Soft Robot Is 100% Edible, Including the Battery

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/robotic-gripper-with-feather-like-fingers-delicately-holds-a-brown-mushroom-on-a-black-background.jpg?id=62284894&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C1%2C0%2C1"/><br/><br/><p><span>Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at </span><em>IEEE Spectrum</em><span> robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please </span><a href="mailto:automaton@ieee.org?subject=Robotics%20event%20suggestion%20for%20Video%20Friday">send us your events</a><span> for inclusion.</span></p><h5><a href="https://2026.ieee-icra.org/">ICRA 2026</a>: 1–5 June 2026, VIENNA</h5><p>Enjoy today’s videos!</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><div style="page-break-after: always"><span style="display:none"> </span></div><blockquote class="rm-anchors" id="wmlz2khwjrs"><em>EPFL scientists have integrated discarded crustacean shells into robotic devices, leveraging the strength and flexibility of natural materials for robotic applications.</em></blockquote><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d90a9481d2045cc7d07e9844d472cdeb" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wmLz2khwJrs?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://news.epfl.ch/news/bio-hybrid-robots-turn-food-waste-into-functiona-2/">EPFL</a> ]</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p class="rm-anchors" id="rrcxecifj0u">Finally, a good <a data-linked-post="2666662286" href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/humanoid-robots" target="_blank">humanoid robot</a> demo!</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6ab457cf6c1de45d40a27f487082a70a" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rRCXeCIFJ0U?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>Although having said that, I never trust videos demos where it works really well once, and then just pretty well every other time.</p><p>[ <a href="https://www.limxdynamics.com/en/oli">LimX Dynamics</a> ]</p><p>Thanks, Jinyan!</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p class="rm-anchors" id="fysgitfvvbs">I understand how these structures work, I really do. But watching something rigid extrude itself from a flexible reel will always seem a little magical.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="18fcdecd030e4f3a89cc29a8a5e670c7" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FysgitFVVBs?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1107385">AAAS</a> ]</p><p>Thanks, Kyujin!</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p class="rm-anchors" id="gh7dlaqlsuc">I’m not sure what “industrial grade” actually means, but I want robots to be “automotive grade,” where they’ll easily operate for six months or a year without any maintenance at all.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a7281ae7d98a9cb8efca1045fd6a7f3e" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gH7DLaQlsuc?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://www.pudurobotics.com/en/products/d5">Pudu Robotics</a> ]</p><p>Thanks, Mandy!</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p class="rm-anchors" id="rry09dybo4e">When you start to suspect that your <a data-linked-post="2657700577" href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/mobile-ev-charging-robot" target="_blank">robotic EV charging</a> solution costs more than your car.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="660d20eca4976d472604c117a0ea415e" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RRY09DyBO4E?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://www.flexiv.com/case-studies/ev_charging_solution">Flexiv</a> ]</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p class="rm-anchors" id="fgcqqycag5s">Yeah uh if the application for this humanoid is actually making robot parts with a hammer and anvil, then I’d be impressed.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e1dc762a7dab4a8e11bcf585e6a82140" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FGcQqyCaG5s?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://www.engineai.com.cn/product-t800">EngineAI</a> ]</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><blockquote class="rm-anchors" id="qcdtnfayqxk"><em>Researchers at Columbia Engineering have designed a robot that can learn a human-like sense of neatness. The researchers taught the system by showing it millions of examples, not teaching it specific instructions. The result is a model that can look at a cluttered tabletop and rearrange scattered objects in an orderly fashion.</em></blockquote><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7f271893da9341b1b55395033e8619fb" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QcDtNfAYQXk?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://arxiv.org/html/2310.04566v3">Paper</a> ]</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p class="rm-anchors" id="yiyk8gpu9ye">Why haven’t we seen this sort of thing in humanoid robotics videos yet?</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4c1413636ecdbf5982cb659c4f9715ee" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yIyk8GPU9YE?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://www.inria.fr/en/hucebot">HUCEBOT</a> ]</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p class="rm-anchors" id="qxg2umns0vo">While I definitely appreciate in-the-field testing, it’s also worth asking to what extent your robot is actually being challenged by the in-the-field field that you’ve chosen.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b27e732009ee69ccd0c271ed198ad3a2" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qxG2umnS0vo?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://www.deeprobotics.cn/en">DEEP Robotics</a> ]</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><blockquote class="rm-anchors" id="44wpylavik0"><em>Introducing HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal — autonomous, adaptive, designed for real-world impact. Built in 5 months, walking stably after 48 hours of training.</em></blockquote><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6dea41dc05624642378ab44bbaa3d8de" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/44WPYlAvIK0?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://thehumanoid.ai/product/">Humanoid</a> ]</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p class="rm-anchors" id="kjjeqzecpcq">Unitree says that “this is to validate the overall reliability of the robot” but I really have to wonder how useful this kind of reliability validation actually is.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="baf62ce8bb4775c45d26663f21ee9e7a" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kjJeQZECPcQ?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><p>[ <a href="https://www.unitree.com/">Unitree</a> ]</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div><p class="rm-anchors" id="fxikqk-izqq">This University of Pennsylvania GRASP on Robotics Seminar is by Jie Tan from Google DeepMind, on “Gemini Robotics: Bringing AI into the Physical World.”</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"><span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3d0ea414b6fbb4715ef2a19af7c1178a" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fXiKQk-IzqQ?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span></p><blockquote><em>Recent advancements in large multimodal models have led to the emergence of remarkable generalist capabilities in digital domains, yet their translation to physical agents such as robots remains a significant challenge. In this talk, I will present Gemini Robotics, an advanced Vision-Language-Action (VLA) generalist model capable of directly controlling robots. Furthermore, I will discuss the challenges, learnings and future research directions on robot foundation models.</em></blockquote><p>[ <a href="https://www.grasp.upenn.edu/events/fall-2025-grasp-on-robotics-jie-tan/">University of Pennsylvania GRASP Laboratory</a> ]</p><div class="horizontal-rule"></div>

قام الباحثون في EPFL بتطوير جهاز إمساك روبوتي مستوحى من ذيول الكركند، باستخدام قشور القشريات المهملة لإنشاء آلية إمساك أكثر كفاءة وصديقة للبيئة. تُظهر هذه الابتكار إمكانيات البيروبوتكس في تحسين وظائف الروبوتات مع تعزيز الاستدامة.

Investigadores de la EPFL han desarrollado un agarre robótico inspirado en las colas de langosta, utilizando conchas de crustáceos desechadas para crear un mecanismo de agarre más eficiente y respetuoso con el medio ambiente. Esta innovación demuestra el potencial de la biorobótica para mejorar la funcionalidad robótica mientras se promueve la sostenibilidad.

Des chercheurs de l'EPFL ont développé un gripper robotique inspiré des queues de homard, utilisant des coquilles de crustacés jetées pour créer un mécanisme de préhension plus efficace et respectueux de l'environnement. Cette innovation met en avant le potentiel de la biorobotique pour améliorer la fonctionnalité des robots tout en favorisant la durabilité.

Researchers at EPFL have developed a robotic gripper inspired by lobster tails, utilizing discarded crustacean shells to create a more efficient and environmentally friendly gripping mechanism. This innovation showcases the potential of biorobotics in enhancing robotic functionality while promoting sustainability.

This Soft Robot Is 100% Edible, Including the Battery

Was this article worth reading? Share it

Emma: AI Food Scanner

OH, a potato!

Foodiebot