UC Berkeley Opens Soft Robotics Clinic for Assistive Devices

The clinic houses rapid prototyping tools for inflatable grippers, wearable exosleeves and haptic feedback gloves. Clinicians feed patient goals into a design portal, and research teams iterate weekly to dial in comfort and motion range.

Early beneficiaries include stroke patients regaining fine motor skills and kids with cerebral palsy using lightweight manipulators. The clinic also trains community makerspaces to fabricate low-cost versions using open-source plans.

Funding comes from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and private donors focused on accessibility. UC Berkeley aims to publish outcome data so insurers consider reimbursing soft robotic therapies.