Apple has helped to support the Powershares QQQ, which tracks the biggest tech names, but other tech names have been soft lately.

FORBES: With shares of Microsoft

Dennis Hong, a robotics engineer at Virginia Tech, said research into "soft robotics" was part of a wider trend towards designing more flexible and innovative machines, such as his own "Whole Skin Locomotion" (WSL) robotic mechanism.

CNN: Robotics discovers its soft side