What are the most likely applications of soft robotics?

The potential of soft robots has already been explored, with promising results, in several areas. In particular they look likely to become a useful tool in injury rehabilitation and prosthetics. read more

First thing to note is that 'soft robotics' does not imply 'the use of soft materials in structural design'. It merely means that the interaction forces at joints are not primarily rigid. Compliance in general, and predictable compliance in specific, represents the holy grail for improving the mechanical design of robots. read more

Most soft robots are still in the prototype stage. Therefore they are yet to be demonstrated and proven useful under real-world conditions or for industrial applications. One major obstacle is due to the same non-rigid nature of soft robots. read more