IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020 - 27

©SHUTTERSTOCK/SIMON BRATT

Design Optimization
of Soft Robots
A Review of the State of the Art

R

obotics has undergone a profound revolution in
the past 50 years, moving from the laboratory
and research institute to the factory and home.
Kinematics and dynamics theories have been
developed as the foundation for robot design
and control, based on the conventional definition of
robots: a kinematic chain of rigid links.
Currently, the boundaries among materials, structures, biology, intelligence, and robotics are blurring.
We have a much wider interpretation of what a robot is.
The past decade has seen the increasing use of soft
materials (Young's modulus on the order of kilopascals
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2020.3024280
Date of current version: 22 October 2020

1070-9932/20©2020IEEE

By Feifei Chen and Michael Yu Wang

to megapascals) to build robots, which are generally
referred to as soft robots. This new generation of robots,
originally inspired by natural lives, has grown rapidly
and is enabling new robot abilities for applications
ranging from wearable devices and biomedical engineering to search and rescue in unstructured environments [1]-[3].
Instead of relying on sliding or rolling motions as in conventional rigid robots, soft robots produce mobility based on
the inherent compliance of soft materials. This fundamental
change enables the integration of multiple functions into
simple topologies by embedding actuators and sensors to
build fully functional machines that can perform complex
tasks. Here, the physical presence of soft robots plays a central role in generating adaptable behaviors. The body design
DECEMBER 2020

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IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

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IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020

Contents
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020 - Cover1
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020 - Cover2
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020 - Contents
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020 - 2
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020 - 3
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IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020 - Cover3
IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2020 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2023
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2022
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2019
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2016
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2015
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2014
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2012
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_june2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_march2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_december2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/roboticsautomation_september2010
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