The natural world is home to a huge variety of intricate animals that must adapt to sensitive environmental circumstances while yet having the traits necessary for appropriate mobility. They may increase their chances of surviving in their native environment by having such traits. Researchers have made a good faith attempt to create a variety of soft robots that are not only adaptable to a complicated environment, but also successfully imitate the changes in gait of animals and insects. Such soft robots' performance is determined by a number of factors, including their payload carrying capacity, mobility, resilience, and efficiency. Since the previous 10 years, soft robotics has attracted a lot of interest as a developing topic. Contrary to traditional robots, soft robots are made of soft materials, allowing for increased robustness and ease of control as well as environmental compliance. Moreover, dynamic applications of such soft machines have been demonstrated in the last decade, which required researchers to explore structural designs, novel soft functional materials, additive manufacturing techniques, and strong mathematically modelling, in addition to resource intensive simulations. In fact, for the design of robust soft robots, a comprehensive articulate of these skills are utilized by taking a specific application in to consideration. However, underwater exploration using bio-inspired robotics has always been challenging due to involvement of more factors, such as water pressure, system's leakage, real-time monitoring and mechanical robustness, as compared to simple terrain robots.
Furthermore, A new paradigm of underwater biomimetic actuators has recently been developed in soft robotics, allowing for simpler, more efficient, and easier to adopt robots. This is accomplished by simulating the closest-possible locomotive gaits of such species using the potentially limitless degrees of freedom provided by soft actuators. These underwater robots' design will make it possible to easily comprehend the biomechanics and management of live underwater species in addition to full environmental monitoring, inspection, and control. however, still, there is dire need to provide All-printed (using latest 3D and 4D printing techniques) approaches to design, model and fabricate sustainable, efficient, and high speed autonomous soft robots for underwater applications.
This Research Topic's objective is to present the most recent research accomplishments, discoveries, and concepts while also examining recent developments in soft robotics. It will cover various underwater applications, including exploration, monitoring, and contact with aquatic life. Combining efficient additive printing, actuator structural design, and reliable flexible electronics will make this possible. This research topic will offer a forum for the dissemination of knowledge on structural and material advancements that enable soft machines to continuously and precisely explore the aquatic environment.
This Research Topic in particular focuses on design of soft robotics systems using 3D/4D printing techniques, design optimization using any simulation software, such as ANSYS/COMSOL, hydrodynamics, novel printable polymers or any other aspect which may improve this field. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts for publication in (but not limited to) the following areas:
1. Materials selection and structure design of actuators
2. Performance optimization of soft actuators
3. Modelling and simulation of soft actuators
4. Self-sensing actuators for underwater exploration
5. Advancements in printing process
6. Application demonstrations of soft robots
Keywords:
Wearable Robotics, Soft Robots, 3D Printing, 4D Printing, Smart Materials, Underwater, All-Printing, Modelling, Functional Materials
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
The natural world is home to a huge variety of intricate animals that must adapt to sensitive environmental circumstances while yet having the traits necessary for appropriate mobility. They may increase their chances of surviving in their native environment by having such traits. Researchers have made a good faith attempt to create a variety of soft robots that are not only adaptable to a complicated environment, but also successfully imitate the changes in gait of animals and insects. Such soft robots' performance is determined by a number of factors, including their payload carrying capacity, mobility, resilience, and efficiency. Since the previous 10 years, soft robotics has attracted a lot of interest as a developing topic. Contrary to traditional robots, soft robots are made of soft materials, allowing for increased robustness and ease of control as well as environmental compliance. Moreover, dynamic applications of such soft machines have been demonstrated in the last decade, which required researchers to explore structural designs, novel soft functional materials, additive manufacturing techniques, and strong mathematically modelling, in addition to resource intensive simulations. In fact, for the design of robust soft robots, a comprehensive articulate of these skills are utilized by taking a specific application in to consideration. However, underwater exploration using bio-inspired robotics has always been challenging due to involvement of more factors, such as water pressure, system's leakage, real-time monitoring and mechanical robustness, as compared to simple terrain robots.
Furthermore, A new paradigm of underwater biomimetic actuators has recently been developed in soft robotics, allowing for simpler, more efficient, and easier to adopt robots. This is accomplished by simulating the closest-possible locomotive gaits of such species using the potentially limitless degrees of freedom provided by soft actuators. These underwater robots' design will make it possible to easily comprehend the biomechanics and management of live underwater species in addition to full environmental monitoring, inspection, and control. however, still, there is dire need to provide All-printed (using latest 3D and 4D printing techniques) approaches to design, model and fabricate sustainable, efficient, and high speed autonomous soft robots for underwater applications.
This Research Topic's objective is to present the most recent research accomplishments, discoveries, and concepts while also examining recent developments in soft robotics. It will cover various underwater applications, including exploration, monitoring, and contact with aquatic life. Combining efficient additive printing, actuator structural design, and reliable flexible electronics will make this possible. This research topic will offer a forum for the dissemination of knowledge on structural and material advancements that enable soft machines to continuously and precisely explore the aquatic environment.
This Research Topic in particular focuses on design of soft robotics systems using 3D/4D printing techniques, design optimization using any simulation software, such as ANSYS/COMSOL, hydrodynamics, novel printable polymers or any other aspect which may improve this field. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts for publication in (but not limited to) the following areas:
1. Materials selection and structure design of actuators
2. Performance optimization of soft actuators
3. Modelling and simulation of soft actuators
4. Self-sensing actuators for underwater exploration
5. Advancements in printing process
6. Application demonstrations of soft robots
Keywords:
Wearable Robotics, Soft Robots, 3D Printing, 4D Printing, Smart Materials, Underwater, All-Printing, Modelling, Functional Materials
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.