Soft Robotics

Giving Robots a Sense of Touch? Chinese Team Develops “Electronic Skin” to Open a New Era of Human-Machine Interaction

by
Giving Robots a Sense of Touch? Chinese Team Develops "Electronic Skin" to Open a New Era of Human-Machine Interaction

In our increasingly digital world, the way humans interact with machines is undergoing a profound transformation. From traditional keyboards and mice to touch screens, voice control, and gesture recognition, human-machine interfaces are evolving towards more intuitive and natural interactions. In recent years, a new technology known as “soft human-machine interface” is quietly reshaping the way … Read more

Maze Navigation and Ice Melting! Professor Zhang Weihong and Team Successfully Develop a Miniature Multifunctional Robot

by
Maze Navigation and Ice Melting! Professor Zhang Weihong and Team Successfully Develop a Miniature Multifunctional Robot

Recently, Professor Zhang Weihong from Northwestern Polytechnical University, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with partners from City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, successfully developed a miniature multifunctional soft robot based on electroactive polymers. This robot can autonomously inspect and melt ice in extremely cold environments and … Read more

Maze Navigation and Ice Melting! A Multi-functional Micro Robot Developed at Northwestern Polytechnical University!

by
Maze Navigation and Ice Melting! A Multi-functional Micro Robot Developed at Northwestern Polytechnical University!

Recently, the team led by Academician Zhang Weihong from the Key Laboratory of Aerospace Structure Technology at Northwestern Polytechnical University collaborated with Academician Lui Kin from City University of Hong Kong and Professor Wang Zuankai from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to achieve new advancements in the field of soft robotics. They successfully developed a … Read more

Powerless Miniature Robots Move Instantly with a Laser!

by
Powerless Miniature Robots Move Instantly with a Laser!

In recent years, research on micrometer-scale soft robots has gained significant momentum, with potential applications spanning targeted drug delivery, tissue repair, environmental monitoring, and micro-mechanical operations. However, achieving complex motion control at the microscale, particularly mimicking the diverse movements of natural microorganisms (such as peristalsis, worm-like crawling, swimming, etc.), has been a core challenge hindering … Read more

Bioinspired Hydrogel Actuator for Soft Robotics: Opportunities and Challenges

by
Bioinspired Hydrogel Actuator for Soft Robotics: Opportunities and Challenges

Click the blue text above to subscribe (Image from Nano Today official website) Robotic technology is transforming industry and daily life. As an interdisciplinary field, robotics has garnered significant attention from mechanical engineering, computer science, materials science, chemistry, and other disciplines, facilitating the practical application of robots from micro/nano scales to macro scales. Traditional rigid … Read more

Research Update | Intelligent Soft Robotic System Based on Triboelectric Multi-Sensor Fusion for High-Precision Object Recognition

by
Research Update | Intelligent Soft Robotic System Based on Triboelectric Multi-Sensor Fusion for High-Precision Object Recognition

Intelligent Soft Robotic System Based on Triboelectric Multi-Sensor Fusion for High-Precision Object Recognition Article Overview Recently, Professor Hu Ning’s team from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Hebei University of Technology proposed an intelligent soft robotic system based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG). The research results were published in the internationally renowned journal Advanced Functional Materials … Read more

Weekly Research (Part 2): Intelligent Soft Robotic System for Sensing and Recognition via Triboelectric-Based Multi-Sensor Fusion

by
Weekly Research (Part 2): Intelligent Soft Robotic System for Sensing and Recognition via Triboelectric-Based Multi-Sensor Fusion

Week 34, 2025 One Sentence a Week: May you learn something The doubts held by humanity are the seeds of science. 1 Triboelectric Charge Density Pub Date: 2025-08-14 DOI:10.1002/adma.202510157 A Universal Orientation-Engineering Strategy for Enhancing Mechano-Electric Conversion Performance in Semi-Crystalline Biopolymers Enhancing Mechano-Electric Conversion Performance in Semi-Crystalline Biopolymers through a Universal Orientation Control Strategy Advanced … Read more

A New Paradigm for Programming Magnetic-Controlled Microrobots: A Joint Achievement by Xi’an Jiaotong University, City University of Hong Kong, and the Max Planck Institute Published in PNAS!

by
A New Paradigm for Programming Magnetic-Controlled Microrobots: A Joint Achievement by Xi'an Jiaotong University, City University of Hong Kong, and the Max Planck Institute Published in PNAS!

Introduction: In this revolution of micro-scale manufacturing, templates are discarded, magnetic fields are reinterpreted, and “amber” has become the source of inspiration for structural programming. Image credit: Shan-Gang Wei (Photographer: Wei Shangang) Micro-magnetic-driven flexible devices are crucial for the development and application of minimally invasive medical technology, flexible smart electronic devices, and microrobotics. Despite significant … Read more

Beijing Institute of Technology Team Magnetizes Microrobots to Simulate Parkour in Blood Vessels and Manipulate Microscopic Objects

by
Beijing Institute of Technology Team Magnetizes Microrobots to Simulate Parkour in Blood Vessels and Manipulate Microscopic Objects

“If you could swallow a surgeon, then surgery would become interesting and simple.” — Richard Feynman This was the fantasy of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Feynman 60 years ago. Now, the “surgeon” inside the body has become a reality — microrobots. Remote-controlled microrobots with active steering capabilities have broad prospects in medical applications. Recently, researchers from … Read more