A Study of Potential Social Impacts of Soft Robots with Organic and Edible Bodies by Observation of an Artwork

Abstract

In this paper, we present two remarks on soft robot applications which are found by observing an artwork as well as its beholders. The produced artwork is based on edible soft robots with muscle-like quick actuators. One remark is related to the animacy of the edible soft robot in spite that its organic body is not made of some animal parts, but made of a plant (a vegetable). The other remark is that the produced edible soft robot can be eaten alive, which may lead to a new field of gastronomy. Although the artwork did not aim at any practical application of robots directly, these remarks may lead to new soft robot applications which make social impacts.