Bio-Inspired Soft Robotics: Design, Fabrication and Applications: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Locomotion and Bioinspired Robotics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 696

Special Issue Editors

Shien-Ming Wu School of Intelligent Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 511400, China
Interests: bioinspired robots; soft robotics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission, University of Chongqing, Chongqing 400030, China
Interests: soft robotics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Shien-Ming Wu School of Intelligent Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Interests: soft robotics; bio-inspired robotics; smart structures
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soft robotics have become a hot research topic in recent years, mimicking the locomotion mechanisms of soft bodies existing in nature to achieve a smooth and complex motion. Among the “soft bodies” that can move in complex environments, earthworms, snakes, larval insects, octopus, and eels present a large range of different strategies that, developed over years, we can draw inspiration from.

Many scientists and engineers have developed soft robotic systems, and challenges still wildly exist in the processes of design, fabrication, and applications due to low stiffness, forming difficulty, system integration, etc. This Special Issue aims to collect research on the progress of the design, fabrication, and applications of bio-inspired soft robotics.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Design and modeling of soft robotics;
  • Sensing and control;
  • Smart materials and structures in the application of soft robotics;
  • Soft actuators;
  • Computational methods for soft matter;
  • Fabrication methods for soft robotics;
  • Bio-inspired locomotion control;
  • Embodied intelligence for soft robots.

Dr. Yong Zhong
Dr. Pei Jiang
Dr. Yunquan Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bioinspired robots
  • soft robotics
  • soft actuators
  • soft matter
  • bio-inspired locomotion control
  • fabrication

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

24 pages, 5243 KB  
Article
Multi-Segment Extendable Soft Manipulator Driven by a Pneumatic–Tendon Coupling Mechanism
by Hongxi Yang, Yufeng Zeng, Zeyu Zhong, Zhiyan Chen, Junxi Zhou, Zhicheng Ling, Ye Chen and Yunquan Li
Biomimetics 2025, 10(10), 643; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10100643 - 23 Sep 2025
Viewed by 552
Abstract
Continuum robots have garnered significant attention for their high flexibility and adaptability to complex environments. However, achieving the same level of high-precision control as rigid robots remains a significant challenge. This paper introduces an innovative Multi-Segment Extendable Soft Manipulator (MSESM) that employs a [...] Read more.
Continuum robots have garnered significant attention for their high flexibility and adaptability to complex environments. However, achieving the same level of high-precision control as rigid robots remains a significant challenge. This paper introduces an innovative Multi-Segment Extendable Soft Manipulator (MSESM) that employs a pneumatic–tendon hybrid drive mechanism. The design, utilizing off-the-shelf industrial bellows and 3D-printed components, allows the manipulator to achieve an extension ratio of up to 156.85%. By adopting a differential stiffness design, its bending stiffness was increased by approximately 4–5 times, its axial stiffness was increased by approximately 10 times, and its torsional resistance was enhanced, preventing inter-segment coupling during motion. At the control level, this paper proposes a hybrid control method that integrates a Constant Curvature (CC) physical prior with a data-driven neural network. Experimental results show that in tracking rectangular, triangular, and circular trajectories, this hybrid method reduced the average tracking error by 60.43% compared to a purely neural network-based controller, with the error reduction for the rectangular trajectory reaching 74.19%. This research validates a practical and effective approach for creating soft manipulators that successfully merge high flexibility with high-precision control. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop