How about a manipulator arm that could be used for minimally-invasive surgery?
Inspired by octopus arms, a robotic arm that can bend, stretch and squeeze through cluttered environments has been created by researchers in Italy.
Soft robotics is a promising technology in the medical field, particularly for surgical applications. This arm was designed for surgical operations which need to access remote, confined regions of the body and, once there, manipulate soft organs without damaging them, and relies on coffee grounds as a control mechanism!
For more details, there’s this journal article with diagrams.