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Cutting the Cord: Progress in Untethered Soft Robotics and Actuators

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Abstract

In recent decades, increasing research interest has shifted from traditional rigid skeleton robotics to flexible, shape-programmable, environmentally adaptive and stimuli-responsive “soft robotics”. Within this discipline, soft-robots capable of untethered and/or remote-controlled operation are of particular interest given their utility for actuation in complex situations with larger range of mobility and higher degrees of freedom. The use of new materials and the development of advanced fabrication techniques enable better performance and expand the utility of such soft actuators, moving them towards real-world applications. This review outlines some recent advances in untethered soft robotics and actuators to illustrate the promise of these applications at the interface of material science and device engineering.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Silklab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    Meng Li, Nicholas A. Ostrovsky-Snider & Fiorenzo G. Omenetto

  2. Physical Intelligence Department, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent System, Stuttgart, Germany

    Metin Sitti

  3. Department of Physics, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    Fiorenzo G. Omenetto

  4. Department of Electrical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    Fiorenzo G. Omenetto

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  1. Meng Li
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  2. Nicholas A. Ostrovsky-Snider
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  3. Metin Sitti
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  4. Fiorenzo G. Omenetto
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Li, M., Ostrovsky-Snider, N.A., Sitti, M. et al. Cutting the Cord: Progress in Untethered Soft Robotics and Actuators. MRS Advances 4, 2787–2804 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2019.439

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