Academic Insights and Future Prospects of Soft Robotics: Architecture, Material, Control and Application

Soft Robotics is an emerging field with the potential to address real-world problems with newer possibilities and safer human–robot interactions. Generally, soft robots comprise materials with moduli ranging from 10⁴ to 10⁹ Pa. The significant characteristics of soft robots include their high flexibility, compatibility, and superior environmental adaptability. Despite the several advantages of soft robots, many physical limitations exist due to their structural compliance and the viscoelastic behaviour of the material which leads to non-linear deformations in the material. This very reason necessitates sophisticated and novel sensing, actuation and non-linear control methods for soft robots. This review paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the advancements in soft robots and finally outlines the gaps in this field, currently limiting their usage in several applications. The pros and cons of the various technologies are discussed, and possible strategies for the superior performance of soft robots and their prospects are outlined in this paper.