Soft robotics is a new and fast-growing field of robotics [1] , [2] . It proposes to extend conventional robotics by going beyond the default building blocks, that is, rigid body parts and high-torque servo motors. Soft robotics also uses soft materials like silicone, hydrogels, and polymers. It also includes a wide range of smart materials that are able to change physical properties when stimulated, therefore outsourcing computational functionality directly to the body of the robot (this concept is often referred to as morphological computation [3] , [4] ). In addition, soft robotics considers partially rigid structures like tensegrity designs, foldable robots, origami-based mechanisms, and many others [5] . This expansion of the design space enriches robotics in general and opens the space for radically novel sensing and actuation systems and, consequently, for new applications that were previously out of reach for conventional robotic systems.

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软机器人：特刊介绍

软体机器人是一个新兴且快速发展的机器人领域[1] ,[2] . 它建议通过超越默认构建块（即刚体部件和高扭矩伺服电机）来扩展传统机器人技术。软体机器人还使用软材料，如硅胶、水凝胶和聚合物。它还包括范围广泛的智能材料，这些材料能够在受到刺激时改变物理特性，因此将计算功能直接外包给机器人的身体（这个概念通常被称为形态计算[3] ,[4] ). 此外，软体机器人还考虑部分刚性结构，如张拉整体设计、可折叠机器人、基于折纸的机制等[5] . 这种设计空间的扩展总体上丰富了机器人技术，并为全新的传感和驱动系统打开了空间，从而为传统机器人系统以前无法实现的新应用开辟了空间。