Instruments such as endoscopes, catheters in the medical field, as well as inspection systems in the industry, are telescopic, snake-like instruments which are typically pushed at their bases, in order to deploy. This mode of locomotion poses some sets of limitations. Indeed, friction with surrounding areas can cause damage to their environment, and prevent the deployment of the device in some cases. This is the case for medical applications such as colonoscopy, for instance, where friction with the colonoscope can cause patient discomfort, tissue damage and bleeding. In addition, such instruments may fail to deploy in industrial contexts such as the inspection of a pipe network, where friction in successive turns can severely impact tool progression, and block the deployment in the extreme case. To solve this challenge, inflatable, bio-inspired robots called “vine” robots have been proposed in the literature. They deploy by growth at their tip, instead of translation of their body, enabling friction-less locomotion with respect to their environment. In some cases, these robots are equipped with working channels, in order to insert tools at their bases to perform operations at their tip. However, retracting vine growing robots after their deployment remains a significant unsolved challenge, particularly when they include a working channel. The retraction of these robots will be explored in this project from a general perspective, at multiple scales, and for various applications, including in medical and industrial fields.