Soft robotics: A solid prospect for robotizing the natural organisms

Abstract

Innovation is considered as key to ensure continuous advancement and firm progress in any field. Robotics, with no exception, has gained triumph and approval based on its strength to address divers range of applications as well as its capacity to adapt new ways and means to enhance its applicability. The core of novelty in robotics technology is the perpetual curiosity of human beings to imitate natural systems. This desire urges to continuously explore and find new feet. In the past, contemporary machines, in different shapes, sizes and capabilities, were developed that can perform variety of tasks. The major advantage of these developments was the ability to exhibit superior control, strength and repeatability than the corresponding systems they were replicating. However, these systems were rigid and composed of hard an underlying structure, which is a constraint in bringing into being the compliance that exists in natural organisms. Inspiration of achieving such compliance and to take the full advantage of the design scheme of biological systems compelled researchers and scientists to develop systems avoiding conventional rigid structures. This ambition, to produce biological duos, needs soft and more flexible materials and structures to realize innovative robotic systems. This new footpath to craft biological mockups facilitates further to exploit new materials, novel design methodologies and new control techniques. This paper presents an appraisal on such innovative comprehensions, conferring to their design specific importance. This demonstration is potentially useful to prompt the novelty of soft robotics.