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Emerging and research robotics

Soft Robotics

Robots built with flexible materials that can bend, squeeze, and adapt to delicate objects.

Category reference

What soft robotics are

Soft Robotics are robotic systems built for delicate gripping, medical devices, wearables. They use sensors, actuators, embedded compute, control software, and task logic to act in physical environments.

This reference describes the category rather than a particular commercial product. Capabilities depend on the robot, its tools, software, operating environment and safety design. Product claims should be checked against the manufacturer documentation for the exact model and configuration.

How soft robotics work

A soft robotics system senses the world using soft strain sensors, pressure sensors, flex sensors, tactile skins, embedded optical fibers, estimates state, plans a task or route, and commands pneumatic chambers, hydraulic soft actuators, cable driven tendons, shape memory alloys. Feedback loops compare the intended motion with what actually happened and trigger corrections, retries, or a safe stop.

Typical applications

  • delicate gripping
  • medical devices
  • wearables
  • food handling
  • research labs

Representative systems and formats

  • soft grippers
  • bio inspired soft robots
  • flexible medical robots
  • Soft Robotics research platforms
  • Soft Robotics commercial systems
  • Soft Robotics pilot deployments

Key technologies

  • compliant materials
  • soft sensing
  • pneumatic actuation
  • bio inspired design
  • morphological computation

Common sensors

  • soft strain sensors
  • pressure sensors
  • flex sensors
  • tactile skins
  • embedded optical fibers
  • IMU

Actuation and movement

  • pneumatic chambers
  • hydraulic soft actuators
  • cable driven tendons
  • shape memory alloys
  • dielectric elastomer actuators

Software functions

  • soft body modeling
  • sensor fusion
  • trajectory control
  • shape estimation
  • closed loop pressure control

What to verify before deployment

A category description cannot predict performance in a specific workplace. Test the real task, environment and exception cases. Record where the system needs human recovery and confirm that the complete application has an appropriate safety assessment.

  • Performance drops when sensors face glare, dust, occlusion, deformable objects, poor lighting, water, smoke, or unexpected human behavior.
  • Hardware maintenance matters because motors, joints, seals, batteries, cables, and sensors degrade.
  • Most reliable autonomy is narrow and workflow specific.
  • Integration cost includes training, safety validation, spare parts, maps, network coverage, and support.
  • Human supervision is often needed for edge cases, recovery, cleaning, charging, or exceptions.

Continue with reviewed resources

Robotics softwareRobot sensorsRobot componentsRobotics topicsModular Self Reconfigurable RobotsHumanoid RobotsAI Powered Robotic PlatformsRobotic Grippers and End Effectors
Evidence reviewReviewed 2026-07-23

Soft robotics requires material and test details

Soft robots use compliant materials or structures to deform during actuation and contact. The Harvard Soft Robotics Toolkit documents design, fabrication, modeling, testing and control rather than treating softness as a single capability. Useful comparisons should state the actuator type, working fluid or cable, material, pressure or force range, cycle count and sensing method.

Verified context

  • The toolkit includes downloadable designs, bills of materials, fabrication steps, modeling approaches and empirical tests.
  • Soft grippers can conform to objects, but deformation complicates state estimation and precise control.

What the available evidence does not prove

  • A gentle grasp demo does not establish durability or food-safe operation.
  • Material compliance does not remove the need for force and failure testing.

Sources