Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Soft robots offer physical adaptability and collision robustness, but they find limited applications due to lower speed, precision, and controllability compared to rigid systems. We advocate for a performance-driven approach to develop hybrid soft-rigid robots with animal-like agility. Recent research demonstrates that soft robots incorporating fast-acting muscles, energy-storing tendons, and shape-morphing skeletons can achieve capabilities approaching their biological and rigid counterparts.
Source: npj Robotics
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,990
Awards: G1357475435, Collaborative Research: Climbing and Object Grasping Through Tunable Capillary Adhesion in an Insect-Scale Robot, CAREER: Insect-scale Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Robots Capable of Self-powered Hover and Agile Maneuvering, G7452299184, CAREER: Agile and Adaptable Confined Locomotion with Shape-Shifting Miniature Robots, Collision-Resilient Insect-scale Soft Aerial Robots for Collective Flights in Cluttered Environments, G8875691520, G8876996369
OpenAlex ID: W7128724291