Abstract: A method of manufacturing a robotic manipulator including determining desired manipulator properties including a manipulator shape and manipulator jamming properties; using the manipulator jamming properties and a packing computational model to determine a packing element configuration, the packing computational model defining relationships between manipulator jamming properties and different packing element configurations; controlling an additive printing machine based on the packing element configuration and manipulator shape to manufacture the robot manipulator. The robot manipulator includes a flexible outer skin defining a chamber; a connector attached to the outer skin and connected to a fluid pump to allow fluid to be added to or removed from the chamber; filling elements disposed in the chamber according to the packing element configuration.