Vine-inspired robotics can gently lift heavy and fragile items — from a glass vase to a watermelon, and even a person from a bed. A research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University presented a new type of soft gripper that does not grasp an object by squeezing rigid "fingers," but wraps around it and lifts it in a kind of soft strap-hammock loop. The system was developed to reduce the risk of damaging fragile items and to relieve caregivers when moving people with limited mobility. Unlike classic solutions, here the contact spreads over a large surface area, so local pressures are low, and thus the possibility of injury or breakage is minimal.

Unlike classic robotic grippers that rely on a few points of contact and significant squeezing forces, the "vine-like" approach increases the contact area and turns the grasping problem into a problem of gentle wrapping and hanging. In practice, this means that the same mechanism can pass through narrow openings, break through clutter on a shelf or in a bin, encompass the target, and — after closing the loop — safely lift it without shocks and local pressures that damage the surface.

How the system works: from open to closed loop

The basis consists of a sturdy but lightweight pressurized box located next to the target object. Thin, flexible tubes made of polymer films emerge from each box and extend from the tip under the influence of air via an everting mechanism. While growing, the tube can controllably bend and twist its path to thread under, around, or between obstacles. In the open loop phase, the robot "grows" around the object or person and forms a natural strap. Then it "continues growing" back towards the pressure source, where it enters a mechanical clamp that fixes it, and — with the help of a winch — the loop is slowly tightened and the load is lifted. The result is a soft, sling-like hold with much greater stability than a typical grip with two or three points.

Such a two-stage strategy — first precise positioning, then secure holding — exploits the advantages of soft, compliant structures when reaching a target in a confined space, as well as the advantages of loop closure when stable carrying is needed. The researchers applied this approach on two scales: a smaller one, mounted on a standard robotic arm for manipulating objects in warehouses or laboratories, and a larger one, intended for assistive procedures in care, where a system with two boxes mounted on an overhead support builds a wide, comfortable loop around a person.

Why this is important for care and rehabilitation

Moving a patient from a bed to a wheelchair is one of the physically most demanding and riskiest tasks for caregivers, often requiring two people and carrying a risk of back injury. Standard solutions use rigid hoists and separate canvas slings that someone must manually slide under the patient. The new robot does this without manual "rolling onto the side": the tubes thread themselves and distribute the load over a large area. In experimental demonstrations, the system, with supervision and proper adjustment, safely lifted a person from a lying position, creating a feeling of gentle suspension rather than tight clamping.

For the elderly and people with limited mobility, comfort is also important: the soft walls of the tubes and the possibility of finely tuned pressure mean that lifting does not create hard pressure points. Furthermore, since the tubes grow from the tip and retract back, the system takes up very little space when at rest and does not require permanent home modifications (load-bearing frames, rails, etc.).

Applications beyond healthcare: logistics, industry, and agriculture

On smaller scales, the "vine-like" gripper showed that it can safely lift both delicate and bulky objects: a glass vase, a watermelon, a kettle with a handle, a bundle of metal rods, or a half-inflated ball. Since the tubes can thread through packed boxes of goods, the gripper also serves as a "searcher" that first reaches the requested item and then turns it into a hanging load. In warehouses and postal sorting centers, such an approach can reduce the need for rigid fingers or vacuum cups, which often snag on edges or lose suction on porous surfaces.

In heavy industry, there is potential for remote handling of irregularly shaped loads — for example, in automating cranes in ports, where a combination of flexibility of passage and safety in carrying is needed, or in extracting packages from semi-trailers without workers entering the vehicle. In agriculture, the soft "vine" allows harvesting with minimal damage, even when fruits are in dense foliage and irregularly arranged.

Technical basics: pressure, materials, and control

The key to performance lies in thin-walled but strong polymer membranes (e.g., laminates like TPU-film) that withstand repeated inversion without material fatigue. During everting growth, the contact line forms a continuous "lip" that slides over the surface and pushes obstacles apart without creating instantaneous impacts. Control allows fine dosing of pressure and growth speed, while additional cable or pneumatic channels within the wall ensure twisting and bending of the path. A mechanical clamp in the box defines the loop closure, and a winch takes over the static load during lifting to reduce air consumption.

Compared to classic grippers, such a system reduces the need for exact modeling of the object's geometry and planning a grasp with a limited number of contact points. Instead, the problem boils down to planning the growth path (how much and where the tube threads) and controlling the loop tension to avoid slipping. Stability is inherently high because the load is "in a hanging nest," rather than on the edge of fingers.

Comparison with other soft grippers

Soft robotics has offered several alternatives to rigid fingers in recent years: from origami-inspired "ball" grippers that close under pressure to grippers made of so-called tape-spring strips that wrap around fruits. These technologies have an advantage in contact safety but often require additional mechanisms for expansion or precise grip locations. The "vine-like" approach differs in that the structure itself serves as both the end-effector and the "strap" for carrying: in the open loop you reach the target, and in the closed loop you transfer the load. This reduces mechanical complexity at the arm tip and increases robustness towards irregular geometry.

At the same time, literature on vine/"growing" robots shows the maturity of the concept of movement by growth and the ability to navigate through complex and confined spaces. The novelty here is the integration of that principle with the concept of loop closure and load lifting, especially when the load is fragile or anatomically sensitive, like the human body.

Safety: contact biomechanics and redundancy

Redistribution of the load is key to preventing damage to skin and soft tissues. Wide, compliant loops create a contact surface comparable to textile slings, but with the advantage of automated "threading under." Air pressure can be limited so that maximum contact pressure remains below the threshold that causes circulation issues, while the winch is programmed for controlled torque and soft starting. In prototypes, travel limiters and passive safety straps were added to take over the load in the unlikely event of failure, while pressure and tension sensors prevent overloading.

Another safety point is communication with the user: the system can have a simple interface (e.g., stop/start with clear pressure and tension indicators) and the possibility of manual takeover. For hospital conditions, integration with existing processes (e.g., lifting from bed to a day chair) is foreseen, with validation according to relevant standards for medical hoists.

Demonstrations: from laboratory to applied scenarios

In laboratory tests, the smaller system repeatedly grasped objects of varying stiffness and texture, including a glass vase, a watermelon, and a bundle of metal rods. During the grasp, the tubes first threaded through a packed space (e.g., a full box), then wrapped around the target and formed a stable "bag." In the final step, the winch lifted the load without oscillations. In a care demonstration, a larger device with two boxes mounted on a crossbeam above a bed threaded tubes under the back and under the knees of a person, closed the loop, and gently lifted them into a sitting position, and then into a transfer towards a wheelchair. All phases were controlled and reversible.

These demonstrations confirm two key advantages: (1) the ability to reach the target through obstacles and (2) the ability to safely suspend the load when the loop is closed. Furthermore, the extension/retraction mechanism itself means that after the grasp, nothing rigid protrudes outside the loop, which reduces the risk of hitting the surroundings.

Open questions: regulation, sterility, and maintenance

The path to wider clinical application will require compliance with regulations (for example, classification and testing for medical hoists), addressing issues of sterilization or replacement of consumable tubes, and checking the durability of membranes over a large number of cycles. In home care, questions of ergonomics (dimensions, compressor noise level, procedure speed) and cost of consumables are important. The design is modular: consumable "socks" can be cheap and replaceable, while the box with the compressor, valves, and winch are longer-lasting components.

Where the technology is today

The concept of "growing" robots is widely documented in professional literature and has recently been extended to fine, millimeter scales and advanced control (e.g., liquid crystal elastomers in "skin" for steering). Teams from MIT and Stanford presented their recent results on cross-section programming and application for patient transfer in 2025 in the form of a scientific paper and congress presentations, emphasizing the possibility of forming wide, comfortable straps and proving the principle that a single gentle, soft mechanism can take over a function that previously required a combination of manual labor and rigid mechanics. This is research that is still in validation and iterative development, but demonstrations show a mature basis for transition towards pilot applications in real environments.

Potential for integration with vision and planning

Although demonstrations show successful lifts in semi-controlled conditions, next steps include integration with stereo-vision or depth cameras that can "read" the contours of the body and environment and plan the tube growth path with minimal contact with sensitive points. Algorithms can generate growth parameters (pressure, speed, twist angle) and verification checks (is the loop truly closed, is tension within allowable limits). In logistics, connecting with WMS/ERP systems would allow automatic retrieval of items from deep shelves with minimal operator intervention.

Economics and sustainability

The gross cost of the prototype largely depends on the compressor, valve plate, and sensor package. The consumable part — polymer sleeves — can be produced in rolls of industrial laminate, which facilitates maintenance and reduces waste: a worn sleeve is replaced without changing the rest of the system. Energetically, growth cycles require peak air flows, but load maintenance can be economical because the winch takes over the static load.

What this means for workplace design

In care institutions, where musculoskeletal injuries of caregivers are common, such technology can be part of a wider package of measures: standardized lifting procedures, training, and equipment. In warehouses, where goods are often hard to reach from the depths of pallet cages, the "vine-like" approach can complement existing robotic arms and AGV/AMR systems, especially for irregular, slippery, or porous objects.

Concluding on the trend, without an article conclusion

Robotics that adopts principles from the plant world — growth from the tip, twisting around a support, and turning the contact line into a load-bearing loop — opens a new niche between rigid manipulators and traditional hoists. In segments where there has been a compromise between safety and productivity until now, the "vine-like" gripper shows that with two phases (open loop for access, closed loop for carrying) one can obtain both: penetration to the target and safe load suspension.