of Soft Robots of Soft Robots of Soft Robots of Soft Robots of

Abstract

R obotics has undergone a profound revolution in the past 50 years, moving from the laboratory and research institute to the factory and home. Kinematics and dynamics theories have been developed as the foundation for robot design and control, based on the conventional definition of robots: a kinematic chain of rigid links. Currently, the boundaries among materials, structures, biology, intelligence, and robotics are blurring. We have a much wider interpretation of what a robot is. The past decade has seen the increasing use of soft materials (Young’s modulus on the order of kilopascals to megapascals) to build robots, which are generally referred to as soft robots. This new generation of robots, originally inspired by natural lives, has grown rapidly and is enabling new robot abilities for applications ranging from wearable devices and biomedical engineering to search and rescue in unstructured environments [1]–[3]. Instead of relying on sliding or rolling motions as in conventional rigid robots, soft robots produce mobility based on the inherent compliance of soft materials. This fundamental change enables the integration of multiple functions into simple topologies by embedding actuators and sensors to build fully functional machines that can perform complex tasks. Here, the physical presence of soft robots plays a central role in generating adaptable behaviors. The body design Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2020.3024280