Our future robot overlords never looked so squishy. A team of Harvard University scientists has built an entirely soft robot — one that’s inspired by an octopus.

The octobot, described this week in the journal Nature, could pave the way toward more effective soft robots that could be used in search and rescue, exploration and to more safely interact with humans.

“The octobot is a minimal system designed to demonstrate our integrated design and fabrication strategy, which may serve as a foundation for a new generation of completely soft, autonomous robots,” the study authors wrote.

While the octobot mostly just flexes its limbs, it could pave the way toward more effective soft robots that could be used in search and rescue, exploration and to more safely interact with humans. —Seattle Times