Soft Pneumatic Actuators: Recent Advances and Emerging Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Soft pneumatic actuators have emerged as one of the most promising enabling technologies in the rapidly growing field of soft robotics. Unlike their rigid counterparts, these actuators exploit the controlled deformation of compliant materials under fluid pressure to generate a rich repertoire of motions that closely mimic the dexterity and adaptability of biological systems. Their inherent compliance, lightweight construction, and intrinsic safety in proximity to humans make them uniquely suited for applications where conventional rigid actuators fall short, including delicate object manipulation, minimally invasive surgery, wearable rehabilitation devices, and safe human–robot collaboration.

Over the past decade, the field has witnessed remarkable progress on multiple fronts. Novel structural designs, ranging from fiber-reinforced chambers and bellows-type geometries to origami and kirigami-inspired architectures, have significantly expanded the performance envelope of pneumatic soft actuators in terms of force output, stroke, and motion complexity. Advances in additive manufacturing now enable the rapid prototyping and monolithic fabrication of actuators with intricate internal channel networks that were previously unattainable through conventional molding. At the same time, the integration of flexible sensors and self-sensing mechanisms into pneumatic structures has opened the path toward closed-loop control, a critical requirement for transitioning these devices from laboratory demonstrations to real-world deployment. 

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a comprehensive and timely snapshot of recent advances and emerging applications of soft pneumatic actuators. We seek to bring together original research articles and review papers that address the design, fabrication, modeling, sensing, control, and application of these systems. Contributions that bridge the gap between fundamental actuator science and practical deployment are particularly encouraged. 

Papers are welcome on topics that are related, but not limited, to the following:

• Novel design methodologies for soft pneumatic actuators;
• Bio-inspired and biomimetic pneumatic actuator architectures;
• Origami and kirigami-inspired pneumatic actuators;
• Vacuum-powered soft actuators and pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs);
• Fabric-based and textile-reinforced pneumatic actuators;
• Advanced fabrication techniques;
• Materials for soft pneumatic actuators;
• Finite element analysis and computational design optimization of pneumatic actuators;
• AI-driven design and topology optimization of soft pneumatic actuators;
• Data-driven and machine-learning-based modeling and control of soft pneumatic systems;
• Embedded sensing and self-sensing capabilities in soft pneumatic systems;
• Control strategies for soft pneumatic actuators;
• Soft pneumatic grippers and manipulation systems;
• Medical and rehabilitation applications;
• Hybrid soft–rigid and bio-hybrid pneumatic actuation systems;
• Energy efficiency, sustainability, and durability of soft pneumatic actuators.

Dr. Juraj Benić
Dr. Mihael Cipek
Guest Editors

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