New Advances in Intelligent Soft Robots

Dear Colleagues,

There has been a tremendous increase in research and industry interest in soft robotics in the past decade, with various nations and institutions developing major programs to push the frontiers in soft robotics research and technologies. It is a rapidly growing field with competition arising in the areas of biomimetics, soft manipulation, soft sensors, and artificial muscles. Furthermore, soft robotics is emerging in various real-world-use cases, such as pick-and-place, rehabilitation, surgery, and assistive tasks.

This Special Issue aims to present recent progress in cutting-edge development or concepts on intelligent soft robots, with interdisciplinary approaches from basic mechanics, mechanism design, bionic engineering, robot control, artificial intelligence, materials science, finite element simulation, physical fabrication, etc., perspectives. This Special Issue will provide an up-to-date overview of the state of the art and perspectives in the rapidly growing field of soft robotics.

The scope of this Special Issue includes but is not limited to the following:

• Literature review on the state of the art of soft robotics;
• Bio-inspired soft robots;
• Variable and controllable stiffness mechanisms;
• Multifunctional smart materials and structures;
• 3D printing of soft functional devices;
• Mechanically programmable soft robots;
• Novel actuation mechanisms;
• New materials for soft robots;
• Novel methods and technologies for fabricating, testing, and evaluating soft robots;
• Methods and technologies for sensing and controlling soft robot movements;
• Modelling of the underlying mechanisms for the actuation of soft robots.

Dr. Yuzhe Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Machines 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 2400 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.

• soft robotics
• soft sensors
• soft materials
• mechanism design
• smart structures
• additive manufacturing
• artificial intelligence
• finite element simulation