In the underground world of robotic tentacle makers, there are two rules: 1) don’t talk about underground tentacle-making and 2) don’t talk about underground tentacle-making. Both of those rules have been shattered by Matthew Borgatti, a robotics designer who has created a life-like, 3D-printed tentacle that flails around quite disturbingly using Arduino boards and a set of mini air compressors.
Made of silicon, the robotic tentacle is almost completely soft and is controlled by three solenoids that manage the flow of air into the robot. Borgatti has posted the code for his robot for all to use and he’s even built a simple interface to control its motion.
I mean I like calamari as much as the next guy, but gah, am I right?