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Inspired by the distal morphology of the African elephant trunk, we present MELEGROS, a Monolithic ELEphant\u2010inspired GRipper with Optical Sensors, emphasizing sensing as an intrinsic, co\u2010fabricated capability. Unlike multi\u2010material or tendon\u2010based approaches, MELEGROS directly integrates six optical waveguide sensors and five pneumatic chambers into a pneumatically actuated lattice structure (12.5 mm cell size) using a single soft resin and one continuous 3D print. This eliminates mechanical mismatches between sensors, actuators, and body, reducing model uncertainty and enabling simulation\u2010guided sensor design and placement. Only four iterations were required to achieve the final prototype, which features a continuous structure capable of elongation, compression, and bending while decoupling tactile and proprioceptive signals. MELEGROS (132 g) lifts more than twice its weight, performs bioinspired actions such as pinching, scooping, and reaching, and delicately grasps fragile items like grapes. The integrated optical sensors provide distinct responses to touch, bending, and chamber deformation, enabling multifunctional perception. MELEGROS demonstrates a new paradigm for soft robotics where fully embedded sensing and continuous structures inherently support versatile, bioinspired manipulation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/advs.202518878","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]],"date-time":"2026-02-02T21:40:58Z","timestamp":1770068458000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["MELEGROS: Monolithic Elephant\u2010Inspired Gripper with Optical Sensors"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Petr","family":"Trunin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Soft BioRobotics Perception Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) Genova Italy"},{"name":"The Open University, Affiliated Research Centre at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (ARC@IIT) Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Genova Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diana","family":"Cafiso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soft BioRobotics Perception Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) Genova Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anderson Brazil","family":"Nardin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soft BioRobotics Perception Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) Genova Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3175-0587","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Trevor","family":"Exley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soft BioRobotics Perception Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) Genova Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8754-5155","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucia","family":"Beccai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Soft BioRobotics Perception Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) Genova Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]]},"reference":[{"issue":"9","key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","first-page":"36","article-title":"It's a Nose! 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