The DOI matches its Crossref record; 98 of the 98 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Soft Robotics
Open accessAbstract
This description of “soft robotics” is not intended to be a conventional review, in the sense of a comprehensive technical summary of a developing field. Rather, its objective is to describe soft robotics as a new field—one that offers opportunities to chemists and materials scientists who like to make “things” and to work with macroscopic objects that move and exert force. It will give one (personal) view of what soft actuators and robots are, and how this class of soft devices fits into the more highly developed field of conventional “hard” robotics. It will also suggest how and why soft robotics is more than simply a minor technical “tweak” on hard robotics and propose a unique role for chemistry, and materials science, in this field. Soft robotics is, at its core, intellectually and technologically different from hard robotics, both because it has different objectives and uses and because it relies on the properties of materials to assume many of the roles played by sensors, actuators, and controllers in hard robotics.
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“The combination of soft robotics with e-skin can additionally provide the user with a safe, light, and low complexity mode of actuation without the high cognitive strain associated with its rigid and heavy counterpart.[33–35]”
From Flexible Electronics and Devices as Human–Machine Interfaces for Medical Robotics (2022) · cites this paper as [34]
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Citations
Cites
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Recent Advancements in Conductive Fibers Manufacturing and Their Applications in Soft Robotics
Won, J., Jang, J., Kim, H., Choi, I., & Park, S. (2025) · Journal of Flexible and Printed Electronics · doi:10.56767/jfpe.250021
“소프트 로봇 기술은 기존의 강성 로봇과 달리 유연 한 재질을 사용하여 , 무한대에 가까운 자유도를 지니 고 환경과 유기적으로 상호작용할 수 있다 [1].”
Bird-inspired buckling-driven soft grippers for fast and autonomous grasping
Cai, X., Tang, B., & Zhou, G. (2026) · Applied Materials Today · doi:10.1016/j.apmt.2026.103137
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“In contrast to their rigid counterparts, soft robots utilize flexible and stretchable materials, facilitating safer and more resilient interactions with humans while effectively bridging the gap between people and machines [7].”
Trapped fluids and dry zones: Adhesion’s role in soft lubrication instabilities
Xiao, X., Hui, C., & Jagota, A. (2026) · Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids · doi:10.1016/j.jmps.2026.106570
Seawright, A., & Hawkes, E. W. (2026) · IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters · doi:10.1109/lra.2026.3668055
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Fog Computing-Enabled Multi-User Interaction System using Soft Robotic Gloves
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“Soft robots aim to bridge the gap between humans and traditional rigid robots, thanks to their intrinsic flexibility and compliance [1].”
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“Silicone [16] stands out for its versatility in actuators [17], thermoactive systems [18], dielectric elastomers [19], and shape-memory applications [20].”
Pickering surface functionalization of 3D printed silicone
Oh, R., Sim, D. H., Sung, U., Park, H., Youn, B., Lee, D., Kim, J., Park, J. T., & Roh, S. (2026) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2026.177448
A Soft Liquid Dispensing Unit Utilising Pressure-Driven Capillary Flow
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“Soft robotics has emerged as a key paradigm for creating machines that are safe, adaptable, and capable of complex interaction with humans and unstructured environments [1].”
Displacement Measurements on Hyperelastic Materials Using Multiple Object Tracking: a Case Study
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Yumuşak Aktüatörlerde Geometrik Parametrelerin Bükülmeye Etkisi: FEA Simülasyonu
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Smart Hydrogel-Based Actuators and Artificial Muscles: Emerging Frontiers in Soft Robotics
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Octopus-inspired perceptive soft tentacles for versatile coordinated manipulation
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A quasi-zero stiffness biasing mechanism for electrostatic bellow muscle zipping actuators
Taghvaei, H., Riva, M., Benedetti, M., Fontana, M., Gallo, P., & Moretti, G. (2026) · Materials & Design · doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2026.116584
Ogundokun, R. O., Bello, R.-W., Owolawi, P. A., Wyk, E. V., & Du, C. (2026) · Cognitive Models and Artificial Intelligence Conference (AICCONF) · doi:10.1109/aicconf69182.2026.11600635
“Such a trend is exemplified by soft robotics, which replaces rigid linkages with compliant materials to enable safe human contact and flexibility under challenging conditions [5-7].”
3D printable tough hydrogel actuators
Chau, A. L., & Amstad, E. (2026) · Materials Horizons · doi:10.1039/d6mh00947f
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Design, fabrication, and experimental evaluation of a three-finger Fin Ray soft gripper
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“Studies on soft matter printing, 3D printing of soft robotic systems, soft robot manufacturing, and soft robotic materials show that material selection, process anisotropy, and fabrication parameters strongly influence the final mechanical response of soft grippers [15]-[18].”
Exchangeable Liquid Crystal Elastomers With Ultra‐Stable Actuation Over 200 000 Cycles
Liang, H., Wang, Y., Xu, H., He, E., Yang, Y., Yang, Z., Chen, Z., Wang, G., Wei, Y., & Ji, Y. J. (2026) · Advanced Functional Materials · doi:10.1002/adfm.77627
MIKAMI, K., NONAKA, S., Seto, Y., Soma, Y., Tadakuma, K., & YONEDA, K. (2026) · IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation (ICMA) · doi:10.1109/icma69663.2026.11647399
Underwater-Driven Torus-Type Buoyancy Control Mechanism
Ikeda, S., MIKAMI, K., Miyake, S., Abe, K., Watanabe, M., & Tadakuma, K. (2026) · IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation (ICMA) · doi:10.1109/icma69663.2026.11647394
“In recent years, fluid-driven soft actuators have gained significant attention in the field of soft robotics [3].”
A broad-spectrum PANI/GO bilayer for simultaneous photodetection and light-driven actuation
Chang, E.-J., Rani, A., Zhang, J.-J., Chen, R. B.-R., Jhao, W., Qi-you, C., Yadav, B. C., & Lin, M. (2026) · Journal of Materials Chemistry C · doi:10.1039/d6tc01688j
3D-printed liquid crystal elastomer/silicone bistable actuators for reversible snap-through motion
Wang, Z., Yin, C., Zhu, H., Wang, J., Chen, H., Zhao, L., & Zhou, N. (2026) · Sensors and Actuators A Physical · doi:10.1016/j.sna.2026.118468
Bridging the Gap: A Multi‐Scale Review of Active On/Off Valves
Meng, Z., Zhang, H., Wang, J., Qiu, Z., Qiu, M., Zhang, J., Bing Hong, X. U., & Mao, Z. (2026) · Advanced Functional Materials · doi:10.1002/adfm.78087 · Cited by 1
Fabricating Softer Robots and Novel Control Components with Desktop Pellet Printing
Morita, L., Zhai, Y., Sameoto, D., & TOLLEY, M. A. (2026) · IEEE/RAS-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob) · doi:10.1109/biorob66782.2026.11681751
“Soft robots, composed of highly compliant materials, offer unique advantages over traditional rigid systems, including intrinsic safety in human interaction, mechanical resilience, and adaptability to complex, unstructured environments [1].”
Numerical modeling of a 3D printed soft pneumatic actuator
Torzini, L., Puggelli, L., Volpe, Y., Governi, L., & Buonamici, F. (2026) · Rapid Prototyping Journal · doi:10.1108/rpj-02-2026-0128
Stronger vacuum artificial muscles by their cross-sectional perimeter modulations
Wang, J., Guo, J., & Liu, Y. (2026) · International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials · doi:10.1080/19475411.2026.2735880
Active Oscillations of Elastic Membranes Arising from the Coupling with a Catalytic Reaction
Comoretto, A., Gollob, S. D., Steur, E., Becker, K. P., Roche, E. T., & Overvelde, J. T. B. (2026) · Advanced Science · doi:10.1002/advs.77877
“The intrinsic compliance of their bodies leads to features that distinguish them from rigid machines, such as passive adaptability [ 4–6 ], exhibition of complex output deformations from simple inputs [ 7 ], and resilience to damage [ 8, 9 ].”
Recent Advances in Modeling, Control and Motion Planning for AI-Driven Soft Robotic Systems
Tang, L., Yang, W., Chen, W., & Yang, J. (2026) · Biomimetics · doi:10.3390/biomimetics11100728
“Soft robotic systems commonly employ elastomers such as silicone, rubber, and polyurethane as primary structural materials, which can be fabricated into complex compliant structures and internal fluidic channels through techniques such as molding, soft lithography, and additive manufacturing [5,19].”
Force transmission mechanisms in soft-rigid particle mixtures under flexible membrane confinement
Zhang, J., Zhang, H., Li, J., Li, H., Hong, G., Liu, S., & Yu, A. (2026) · Powder Technology · doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2026.123348
Yang, D., Ding, X., Qureshi, S., Zhao, H., & Meng, K. (2026) · Polymer Engineering and Science · doi:10.1002/pen.70893
Highly Stretchable Polyrotaxane Thin‐Film Substrates for Printed Electronics
Manish, V., Baretta, R., Bombardelli, G., Trentini, G., Morano, C., Gaiardo, A., Petti, L., Bagolini, A., Pagnotta, L., Frasconi, M., et al. (2026) · Small Science · doi:10.1002/smsc.70412
Nature-inspired high-performance soft actuators: Mechanism, fabrication and application
Li, Y., Liang, T., Liu, C., Sun, J., Liu, Z., Zhang, H., 马愫倩, Ren, L., Lin, Z., & Liang, Y. (2026) · Advances in Colloid and Interface Science · doi:10.1016/j.cis.2026.104074
Habitat‐Specific Design Strategies for Untethered Soft Robots
Li, S., Miao, Z., Wong, T., & Li, T. (2026) · Advanced Science · doi:10.1002/advs.78287
“Unlike conventional robots, whose rigid housings mechanically decouple internal components from the surrounding environment, soft robots remain in continuous mechanical coupling with their operating medium through deformable bodies and compliant interfaces [ 8–11 ].”
Serrano-Díaz, D. G., Alquisires, O. A. R., Munguía-Fuentes, M. R., & Bayareh-Mancilla, R. (2026) · International Conference on Electrical Engineering, Computing Science and Automatic Control (CCE) · doi:10.1109/cce72160.2026.11734950
“Pneumatic soft actuators have been shown to be feasible for robotic grasping, locomotion, and assistive systems in numerous studies [1], [4], [5].”
Soft Crawling Robots Based on Thin-Film and Gel-Based Actuators
Qiu, Z., Xu, W., Wang, R., Yang, W., & Zhang, L. (2026) · Gels · doi:10.3390/gels12110947
From Artificial to Embodied and Physical Intelligence in Smart Manufacturing
Wang, K., Lu, X., Liu, T., Fang, J., Li, X., Wu, S., Jin, L., Liao, W., Zhang, S., & Tan, J. (2026) · Advanced Science · doi:10.1002/advs.78384
“PI further transforms from passive material realization into an active contributor to intelligence generation itself, where morphology, compliance, structural instability, and adaptive matter directly participate in sensing, regulation, computation, and response [ 117, 138, 195 ].”
Influential
Metadata
- Authors
- Whitesides, G. M.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Whitesides, George M.
- Venue
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-03-08
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 16
- Pages
- 4258-4273
- ISSN
- 1433-7851 (ISSN-L)
- 1521-3773
- OpenAlex
- W4211124276
- Semantic Scholar
- 4899ed6fef8ac75874a202e3458e4a2c1151f926
- Cited by
- 850
- References
- 98
- Citations by year
- 2026: 77 · 2025: 127 · 2024: 121 · 2023: 140 · 2022: 113 · 2021: 113 · 2020: 88 · 2019: 57 · 2018: 14
- FWCI
- 5.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.osti.gov
- Locations
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1420570)
- U.S. Department of Energy (# ER45852, DESC0000989)
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University (DMR- 1420570, 1420570)
- Hansjörg Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University
- Division of Materials Research (DMR 14–20570, 1420570)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Soft Robotics and Applications
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Advanced Materials and Mechanics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering › Robotic Locomotion and Control
- Keywords
- soft robotics, soft actuators
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