New classes of functional soft materials show promise to revolutionize robotics. Now materials scientists must focus on realizing the predicted performance of these materials and developing effective and robust interfaces to integrate them into highly functional robotic systems that have a positive impact on human life.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
In silico optimization of aligned fiber electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators
Scientific Reports Open Access 27 February 2024
-
Toughening colloidal gels using rough building blocks
Nature Communications Open Access 31 August 2023
-
A multifunctional soft robotic shape display with high-speed actuation, sensing, and control
Nature Communications Open Access 31 July 2023
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Haines, C. S. et al. Science 343, 868–872 (2014).
Hu, W., Lum, G. Z., Mastrangeli, M. & Sitti, M. Nature 554, 81–85 (2018).
Ilievski, F., Mazzeo, A. D., Shepherd, R. F., Chen, X. & Whitesides, G. M. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 50, 1890–1895 (2011).
Shintake, J., Rosset, S., Schubert, B., Floreano, D. & Shea, H. Adv. Mater. 28, 231–238 (2016).
Rothemund, P. et al. Sci. Robot. 3, eaar7986 (2018).
Wehner, M. et al. Nature 536, 451–455 (2016).
Vantomme, G. et al. Nat. Mater. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-00931-6 (2021).
Kim, Y., Parada, G. A., Liu, S. & Zhao, X. Sci. Robot. 4, eaax7329 (2019).
Hawkes, E. W., Majidi, C. & Tolley, M. T. Sci. Robot. 6, eabg6049 (2021).
Acome, E. et al. Science 359, 61–65 (2018).
Kim, Y., Yuk, H., Zhao, R., Chester, S. A. & Zhao, X. Nature 558, 274–279 (2018).
Ohm, C., Brehmer, M. & Zentel, R. Adv. Mater. 22, 3366–3387 (2010).
Kellaris, N., Gopaluni Venkata, V., Smith, G. M., Mitchell, S. K. & Keplinger, C. Sci. Robot. 3, eaar3276 (2018).
Rothemund, P., Kellaris, N., Mitchell, S. K., Acome, E. & Keplinger, C. Adv. Mater. 33, 2003375 (2021).
Kellaris, N., Venkata, V. G., Rothemund, P. & Keplinger, C. Extrem. Mech. Lett. 29, 100449 (2019).
Xu, T., Zhang, J., Salehizadeh, M., Onaizah, O. & Diller, E. Sci. Robot. 4, eaav4494 (2019).
Zhang, J. et al. Sci. Robot. 6, eabf0112 (2021).
Xu, P. A. et al. Sci. Robot. 4, eaaw6304 (2019).
Kramer, R. K., Majidi, C. & Wood, R. J. In 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation 1103–1107 https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2011.5980082 (IEEE, 2011).
Lipomi, D. J. et al. Nat. Nanotechnol. 6, 788–792 (2011).
Sun, J.-Y., Keplinger, C., Whitesides, G. M. & Suo, Z. Adv. Mater. 26, 7608–7614 (2014).
Kaltenbrunner, M. et al. Nature 499, 458–463 (2013).
Kim, D.-H. et al. Science 333, 838–843 (2011).
Van Meerbeek, I. M., De Sa, C. M. & Shepherd, R. F. Sci. Robot. 3, eaau2489 (2018).
Bai, H. et al. Science 370, 848–852 (2020).
Aubin, C. A. et al. Nature 571, 51–57 (2019).
Drotman, D., Jadhav, S., Sharp, D., Chan, C. & Tolley, M. T. Sci. Robot. 6, eaay2627 (2021).
Aubin, C. et al. Nature (in the press).
Kim, Y., van den Berg, J. & Crosby, A. J. Nat. Mater. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-00909-w (2021).
Peng, Y. et al. Nat. Mater. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-00990-9 (2021).
Kang, B. B., Choi, H., Lee, H. & Cho, K.-J. Soft Robot. 6, 214–227 (2019).
Kim, J. et al. Science 365, 668–672 (2019).
Roche, E. T. et al. Sci. Transl. Med. 9, eaaf3925 (2017).
Park, S. et al. Nat. Commun. 12, 3435 (2021).
Yuk, H., Lu, B. & Zhao, X. Chem. Soc. Rev. 48, 1642–1667 (2019).
Yang, J., Bai, R., Chen, B. & Suo, Z. Adv. Funct. Mater. 30, 1901693 (2020).
Zhao, X. et al. Chem. Rev. 121, 4309–4372 (2021).
Yuk, H., Zhang, T., Lin, S., Parada, G. A. & Zhao, X. Nat. Mater. 15, 190–196 (2016).
Bartlett, N. W. et al. Science 349, 161–165 (2015).
Keplinger, C. et al. Science 341, 984–987 (2013).
Acknowledgements
P.R. and C.K. acknowledge funding by the Max Planck Society, Germany. Y.K. acknowledges funding through scholarships from ILJU Academy and Culture Foundation and MIT School of Engineering MathWorks Fellowship. X.Z. acknowledges funding from the National Institutes of Health (no. 1R01HL153857-01) and the National Science Foundation (no. EFRI-1935291).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
C.K. developed the concept of the article. P.R. and C.K. led and coordinated the writing of the article. All authors contributed to the content and writing of the article.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
P.R. and C.K. are listed as inventors of patents that cover fundamentals and basic designs of HASEL actuators as well as methods of fabrication. Y.K. and X.Z. are listed as inventors of patents that cover fundamental principles and fabrication techniques for 3D-printed magnetic soft actuators and magnetically steerable soft continuum robots. X.Z. is a co-founder of SanaHeal Inc., a start-up company commercializing bioadhesives. R.F.S. is listed as an inventor for patents regarding stretchable lightguide-based optical sensing platforms, and is a co-founder of Organic Robotics Corporation, which licenses these patents. C.K. is a co-founder of Artimus Robotics, a start-up company commercializing HASEL actuators.
Additional information
Peer review information Nature Materials thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rothemund, P., Kim, Y., Heisser, R.H. et al. Shaping the future of robotics through materials innovation. Nat. Mater. 20, 1582–1587 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-01158-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-01158-1
This article is cited by
-
In silico optimization of aligned fiber electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators
Scientific Reports (2024)
-
Evaluating innovative future robotic applications in manufacturing using a fuzzy collaborative intelligence approach
The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (2024)
-
A multifunctional soft robotic shape display with high-speed actuation, sensing, and control
Nature Communications (2023)
-
Polyvinyl chloride-based dielectric elastomer with high permittivity and low viscoelasticity for actuation and sensing
Nature Communications (2023)
-
Electrostatic actuators with constant force at low power loss using matched dielectrics
Nature Electronics (2023)