International Journal of Robotics Research
Liapunov stability of force-controlled grasps with a multi-fingered hand
International Journal of Robotics Research
Inverse Kinematics of Binary Manipulators Using a Continuum Model
Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems
Compliant grasping with passive forces
Journal of Robotic Systems
Crawling and Jumping by a Deformable Robot
International Journal of Robotics Research
Kinematics for multisection continuum robots
IEEE Transactions on Robotics
Path planning for deformable linear objects
IEEE Transactions on Robotics
Macro-continuous computed torque algorithm for a three-dimensional eel-like robot
IEEE Transactions on Robotics
Design and Control of an IPMC Wormlike Robot
IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part B: Cybernetics
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Traditional robots have rigid underlying structures that limit their ability to interact with their environment. For example, conventional robot manipulators have rigid links and can manipulate objects using only their specialised end effectors. These robots often encounter difficulties operating in unstructured and highly congested environments. A variety of animals and plants exhibit complex movement with soft structures devoid of rigid components. Muscular hydrostats e.g. octopus arms and elephant trunks are almost entirely composed of muscle and connective tissue and plant cells can change shape when pressurised by osmosis. Researchers have been inspired by biology to design and build soft robots. With a soft structure and redundant degrees of freedom, these robots can be used for delicate tasks in cluttered and/or unstructured environments. This paper discusses the novel capabilities of soft robots, describes examples from nature that provide biological inspiration, surveys the state of the art and outlines existing challenges in soft robot design, modelling, fabrication and control.