Technologies and Applications of Soft Robotics: A Review

Abstract

A soft robot is a type of continuum robot that is made of a soft material. Soft robots show infinite degrees of freedom that enable them to track complicated paths. The advantages of soft robotics include high safety, minimal maintenance cost, and robust adaptability to the unstructured environment. Therefore, they can be used for applications in various fields such as industrial, defense, medical, and exploration. This paper discusses about the various existing technologies used in development soft robots. The paper mainly focuses on the design, manufacturing, actuation, and sensing aspects of soft robotics. A review on these aspects of soft robotics is presented along with applications.