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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2025

Fabrication of Soft Pneumatic Network Actuators with Oblique Chambers

Fabrication of Soft Pneumatic Network Actuators with Oblique Chambers

Published on: August 17, 2018

Untethered soft actuators for soft standalone robotics.

Yeongju Jung¹, Kangkyu Kwon¹, Jinwoo Lee²

¹Applied Nano and Thermal Science Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, South Korea.

Nature Communications

|April 25, 2024

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Untethered soft actuators overcome power supply limitations of traditional soft robots. This review explores innovative materials and strategies for advanced, wire-free soft robotic applications.

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Last Updated: Jun 27, 2025

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Area of Science:

Robotics
Materials Science
Mechanical Engineering

Background:

Soft actuators are crucial for soft robot movement but are often limited by wired power supplies.
Existing soft actuators frequently rely on electrical wires or pneumatic tubes, restricting practical applications.
Untethered soft actuators offer a solution to these power supply limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

To review recent breakthroughs in untethered soft actuator technology.
To discuss the functional materials and innovative strategies enabling wire-free soft actuators.
To provide perspectives on future challenges and opportunities in soft actuator development.

Main Methods:

Literature review of untethered soft actuator research.
Analysis of functional materials and design strategies for wire-free actuation.
Discussion of current limitations and future research directions.

Main Results:

Identification of novel untethered soft actuator designs.
Overview of key materials enabling self-powered soft actuation.
Synthesis of strategies for overcoming tethering limitations.

Conclusions:

Untethered soft actuators represent a significant advancement for soft robotics.
Further research into materials and strategies will unlock new applications.
Addressing current challenges will pave the way for next-generation soft robots.