Browse Topic: Soft robotics
Soft robot systems demonstrate exceptional load-bearing capacity and spatial compliance during operation, with transformative potential in disaster response scenarios requiring adaptive morphology and hazardous material manipulation. By integrating the complementary advantages of soft robotics and particle jamming mechanisms, this study proposes a real-time variable-stiffness soft actuator, while systematically investigating its mathematical modeling framework and stiffness modulation principles. A deformation model for the variable stiffness soft actuator is established, followed by static analysis of the variable-stiffness members using particle jamming theory, with theoretical investigation of their stress distributions. Subsequently, a variable-stiffness driver was fabricated via additive manufacturing (3D printing), resulting in a flexible mechanical digit capable of stiffness tuning, A soft mechanical hand grasping test platform was built, and grasping experiments of objects of different shapes and sizes were conducted. Experimental validation confirms the influence of actuator dimensions, particle characteristics, and granule size distribution on both stress states and bending angles at the soft robotic digit’s distal segment. The obtained results establish theoretical foundations and advance variable-stiffness soft robotics research and associated stiffness regulation methodologies.
A new artificial intelligence control system enables soft robotic arms to learn a wide repertoire of motions and tasks once, then adjust to new scenarios on the fly, without needing retraining or sacrificing functionality.
Power sources used in devices found in or around biological tissue must be flexible and non-toxic, while still powerful enough to support demanding technologies such as medical devices or soft robotics. To achieve this balance, researchers at Penn State are taking inspiration from electric eels.
A team of biomedical engineers at Georgia Tech has unveiled a breakthrough in adaptive optics: a bio-mimetic, light-powered soft lens that mimics the human eye’s ability to refocus and adjust to varying light conditions. The research, published in Science Robotics, opens new possibilities for soft robotics, biomedical imaging, and autonomous vision systems.
Imagine a tiny robot, no bigger than a leaf, gliding across a pond’s surface like a water strider. One day, devices like this could track pollutants, collect water samples, or scout flooded areas too risky for people.
Pop culture has often depicted robots as cold, metallic, and menacing, built for domination, not compassion. But at Georgia Tech, the future of robotics is softer, smarter, and designed to help.
Multimodal sensors, capable of simultaneously acquiring multiple physical or chemical signals, have shown broad application potential in fields such as health monitoring, soft robotics, and energy systems. However, current multimodal sensors often suffer from complex fabrication processes and signal decoupling challenges, which limit their practical deployment. To address these issues, this work presents a thin-film temperature–strain multimodal sensor (FTSMS) fabricated via laser processing. The temperature-sensing unit, based on the Seebeck effect, achieves a sensitivity of 9.08 μV/°C, while the strain-sensing unit, utilizing BaTiO₃/AlN@PDMS as the sensitive layer, exhibits a gauge factor (GF) of 43.2. By integrating distinct sensing mechanisms (thermovoltage for temperature and capacitance change for strain), the FTSMS enables self-decoupled measurements over 20–90 °C. Applied in LIB monitoring, it successfully captures real-time temperature and strain variations during charge-discharge cycles and provides multidimensional information throughout thermal runaway (TR) processes, enabling early TR warning and supporting safety-oriented battery design.
Researchers have created a light-powered soft robot that can carry loads through the air along established tracks, similar to cable cars or aerial trams. The soft robot operates autonomously, can climb slopes at angles of up to 80°, and can carry loads up to 12 times its weight.
EPFL researchers have engineered a fiber-based electronic sensor that remains functional even when stretched to over 10 times its original length. The device holds promise for smart textiles, physical rehabilitation devices, and soft robotics.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a soft robotic skin that enables vine robots that are just a few millimeters wide to navigate convoluted paths and fragile environments. To accomplish this, the researchers integrated a very thin layer of actuators made of liquid crystal elastomer at strategic locations in the soft skin. The robot is steered by controlling the pressure inside its body and temperature of the actuators.
EPFL researchers have developed a customizable soft robotic system that uses compressed air to produce shape changes, vibrations, and other haptic, or tactile, feedback in a variety of configurations. The device holds significant promise for applications in virtual reality, physical therapy, and rehabilitation.
Researchers have created a light-powered soft robot that can carry loads through the air along established tracks, similar to cable cars or aerial trams. The soft robot operates autonomously, can climb slopes at angles of up to 80°, and can carry loads up to 12 times its weight.
Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have developed a new soft joint model for robots with an asymmetrical triangular structure and an extremely thin central column. This breakthrough, recently patented, allows for versatility of movement, adaptability and safety, and will have a major impact in the field of robotics.
Researchers are developing soft sensor materials based on ceramics. Such sensors can feel temperature, strain, pressure, or humidity, for instance, which makes them interesting for use in medicine, but also in the field of soft robotics.
Researchers have developed a multifunctional sensor based on semiconductor fibers that emulates the five human senses. Prof. Bonghoon Kim, department of robotics and mechatronics engineering of Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST), conducted the study in collaboration with Prof. Sangwook Kim at KAIST, Prof. Janghwan Kim at Ajou University, and Prof. Jiwoong Kim at Soongsil University. The technology developed in the study is expected to be utilized in fields such as wearables, Internet of Things (IoT), electronic devices, and soft robotics.
Soft-bending actuators have garnered significant interest in robotics and biomedical engineering due to their ability to mimic the bending motions of natural organisms. Using either positive or negative pressure, most soft pneumatic actuators for bending actuation have modified their design accordingly. In this study, we propose a novel soft bending actuator that utilizes combined positive and negative pressures to achieve enhanced performance and control. The actuator consists of a flexible elastomeric chamber divided into two compartments: a positive pressure chamber and a negative pressure chamber. Controlled bending motion can be achieved by selectively applying positive and negative pressures to the respective chambers. The combined positive and negative pressure allowed for faster response times and increased flexibility compared to traditional soft actuators. Because of its adaptability, controllability, and improved performance can be used for various jobs that call for careful handling or compliant environmental contact. The actuator's simple design and cost-effective manufacturing process contribute to its practicality and scalability. The modeling and conducting simulations on a soft robotic combined positive and negative pressure actuator also aim to design an adaptive soft-robotic gripper with reduced effort and investigate the up scaling of such grippers to extend their applicability to heavy payload handling and assembly. Once the results from simulations and experiments conducted by models are collaborated, the geometrical parameters are modified to get improved results. The improved model is compared in terms of pressure range, bending angle, versatility, and weight-carrying capacity. Simulation is done on Ansys for real-time results. The parametric study helps in establishing correlations between pressure and deflections to accurately control the motion of soft grippers
A team led by Emily Davidson has reported that they used a class of widely available polymers called thermoplastic elastomers to create soft 3D printed structures with tunable stiffness. Engineers can design the print path used by the 3D printer to program the plastic’s physical properties so that a device can stretch and flex repeatedly in one direction while remaining rigid in another. Davidson, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, says this approach to engineering soft architected materials could have many uses, such as soft robots, medical devices and prosthetics, strong lightweight helmets, and custom high-performance shoe soles.
Soft skin coverings and touch sensors have emerged as a promising feature for robots that are both safer and more intuitive for human interaction, but they are expensive and difficult to make. A recent study demonstrates that soft skin pads doubling as sensors made from thermoplastic urethane can be efficiently manufactured using 3D printers.
Researchers have developed a new soft robot design that engages in three simultaneous behaviors: rolling forward, spinning like a record, and following a path that orbits around a central point. The device, which operates without human or computer control, holds promise for developing soft robotic technologies that can be used to navigate and map unknown environments.
The future of wireless technology - from charging devices to boosting communication signals - relies on the antennas that transmit electromagnetic waves becoming increasingly versatile, durable and easy to manufacture. Researchers at Drexel University and the University of British Columbia believe kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding paper to create intricate three-dimensional designs, could provide a model for manufacturing the next generation of antennas. Recently published in the journal Nature Communications, research from the Drexel-UBC team showed how kirigami - a variation of origami - can transform a single sheet of acetate coated with conductive MXene ink into a flexible 3D microwave antenna whose transmission frequency can be adjusted simply by pulling or squeezing to slightly shift its shape.
Researchers have successfully demonstrated the four-dimensional (4D) printing of shape memory polymers in submicron dimensions that are comparable to the wavelength of visible light. 4D printing enables 3D-printed structures to change their configurations over time and is used in a variety of fields such as soft robotics, flexible electronics, and medical devices.
Conventional robotic grippers struggle with the unique shapes, properties, and delicate nature of different crops. Consequently, there has been an increasing demand for more versatile robots that can adapt to objects with various shapes, sizes, and textures.
Scientists have developed an innovative wearable fabric that is flexible but can stiffen on demand. Developed through a combination of geometric design, 3D printing, and robotic control, the new technology, RoboFabric, can quickly be made into medical devices or soft robotics.
For engineers working on soft robotics or wearable devices, keeping things light is a constant challenge: heavier materials require more energy to move around, and — in the case of wearables or prostheses — cause discomfort. Elastomers are synthetic polymers that can be manufactured with a range of mechanical properties, from stiff to stretchy, making them a popular material for such applications. But manufacturing elastomers that can be shaped into complex 3D structures that go from rigid to rubbery has been unfeasible until now.
To advance soft robotics, skin-integrated electronics, and biomedical devices, researchers have developed a 3D printed material that is soft and stretchable — traits needed for matching the properties of tissues and organs — and that self-assembles. Their approach employs a process that eliminates many drawbacks of previous fabrication methods, such as less conductivity or device failure.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated miniature soft hydraulic actuators that can be used to control the deformation and motion of soft robots that are less than a millimeter thick. The researchers have also demonstrated that this technique works with shape memory materials, allowing users to repeatedly lock the soft robots into a desired shape and return to the original shape as needed.
Researchers have found a way to bind engineered skin tissue to the complex forms of humanoid robots. This brings with it potential benefits to robotic platforms such as increased mobility, self-healing abilities, embedded sensing capabilities and an increasingly lifelike appearance. Taking inspiration from human skin ligaments, the team, led by Professor Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo, included special perforations in a robot face, which helped a layer of skin take hold. Their research could be useful in the cosmetics industry and to help train plastic surgeons.
Rice University Houston, TX
A research paper by scientists at the University of Coimbra proposed a soft robotic hand comprising soft actuator cores and an exoskeleton, featuring a multimaterial design aided by finite element analysis to define the hand geometry and promote finger’s bendability. The new research paper, published on August 8 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems, presented the development, fabrication, and control of a bioinspired soft robotic hand and demonstrated finite element analysis can serve as a valuable tool to support the design and control of the hand’s fingers.
For people who have suffered neurotrauma such as a stroke, everyday tasks can be extremely challenging because of decreased coordination and strength in one or both upper limbs. These problems have spurred the development of robotic devices to help enhance their abilities. However, the rigid nature of these assistive devices can be problematic, especially for more complex tasks like playing a musical instrument.
Freezing is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 9 million people worldwide. When individuals with Parkinson’s disease freeze, they suddenly lose the ability to move their feet, often mid-stride, resulting in a series of staccato stutter steps that get shorter until the person stops altogether. These episodes are one of the biggest contributors to falls among people living with Parkinson’s disease.
“Soft robots,” medical devices and implants, and next-generation drug delivery methods could soon be guided with magnetism — thanks to a metal-free magnetic gel developed by researchers at the University of Michigan and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany.
Researchers have laid the groundwork for a soft robotic tool and control system that could grant surgeons an unprecedented degree of maneuverability within the brain. A recent study demonstrates that the new system is both intuitive and highly accurate. The early results suggest that, with further development, the robot could one day speed up and improve the efficacy of minimally invasive surgeries for life-threatening brain aneurysms and other serious conditions.
Using a new type of dual-polymer material capable of responding dynamically to its environment, researchers have developed a set of modular hydrogel components that could be useful in a variety of soft robotic and biomedical applications.
Utilizing soft, flexible materials such as cloth, paper, and silicone, soft robotic grippers is an essential device that acts like a robot’s hand to perform functions such as safely grasping and releasing objects. Unlike conventional rigid material grippers these are more flexible and safe. However, their low load capacity makes it difficult for them to lift heavy objects, and their poor grasping stability makes it easy to lose the object even under mild external impact.
Researchers have laid the groundwork for a soft robotic tool and control system that could grant surgeons an unprecedented degree of maneuverability within the brain. A recent study demonstrates that the new system is both intuitive and highly accurate. The early results suggest that, with further development, the robot could one day speed up and improve the efficacy of minimally invasive surgeries for life-threatening brain aneurysms and other serious conditions.
Research teams at University of Galway and MIT have detailed a new breakthrough in medical device technology that could lead to intelligent, long-lasting, tailored treatment for patients thanks to soft robotics and artificial intelligence.
Muscle contraction hardening is not only essential for enhancing strength but also enables rapid reactions in living organisms. Taking inspiration from nature, the team of researchers at Queen Mary’s School of Engineering and Materials Science has successfully created an artificial muscle that seamlessly transitions between soft and hard states while also possessing the remarkable ability to sense forces and deformations.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated a caterpillar-like soft robot that can move forward, backward, and even dip under narrow spaces. The caterpillar-bot’s movement is driven by a novel pattern of silver nanowires that use heat to control the way the robot bends.
Some 30,000 people in the United States are affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition that damages cells in the brain and spinal cord necessary for movement.
A team of Cornell University researchers has laid the foundation for developing a new class of untethered soft robots that can achieve more complex motions with less reliance on explicit computation. By taking advantage of viscosity — the very thing that previously stymied the movement of soft robots — the new approach offloads control of a soft robot’s cognitive capability from the “brain” onto the body using the robot’s mechanical reflexes and ability to leverage its environment.
A team of Cornell University researchers have laid the foundation for developing a new class of untethered soft robots that can achieve more complex motions with less reliance on explicit computation. By taking advantage of viscosity - the very thing that previously stymied the movement of soft robots - the new approach offloads control of a soft robot's cognitive capability from the “brain” onto the body using the robot's mechanical reflexes and ability to leverage its environment. A soft robot is made from soft, flexible materials, such as silicone or other elastomers, rather than rigid materials such as metal or plastic used in non-soft robots. Soft robots are designed to mimic the movement and flexibility of biological organisms.
One of the virtues of untethered soft robots is their ability to mechanically adapt to their surroundings and tasks, making them ideal for a range of roles, from tightening bolts in a factory to conducting deep-sea exploration. Now they are poised to become even more agile and controlled.
A team of engineers and clinicians has developed an ultra-thin, inflatable device that can be used to treat the most severe forms of pain without the need for invasive surgery. The device, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, uses a combination of soft robotic fabrication techniques, ultra-thin electronics, and microfluidics.
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