Wang Honghong, Du Jingli, Mao Yi
School of Mechano-Electronic Engineering, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, China.
School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
Gels. 2025 Mar 27;11(4):254. doi: 10.3390/gels11040254.
This paper comprehensively reviews the latest advances in hydrogel-based continuum soft robots. Hydrogels exhibit exceptional flexibility and adaptability compared to traditional robots reliant on rigid structures, making them ideal as biomimetic robotic skins and platforms for constructing highly accurate, real-time responsive sensory interfaces. The article systematically summarizes recent research developments across several key dimensions, including application domains, fabrication methods, actuator technologies, and sensing mechanisms. From an application perspective, developments span healthcare, manufacturing, and agriculture. Regarding fabrication techniques, the paper extensively explores crosslinking methods, additive manufacturing, microfluidics, and other related processes. Additionally, the article categorizes and thoroughly discusses various hydrogel-based actuators responsive to solute/solvent variations, pH, chemical reactions, temperature, light, magnetic fields, electric fields, hydraulic/electro-osmotic stimuli, and humidity. It also details the strategies for designing and implementing diverse sensors, including strain, pressure, humidity, conductive, magnetic, thermal, gas, optical, and multimodal sensors. Finally, the paper offers an in-depth discussion of the prospective applications of hydrogel-based continuum soft robots, particularly emphasizing their potential in medical and industrial fields. Concluding remarks include a forward-looking outlook highlighting future challenges and promising research directions.
本文全面综述了基于水凝胶的连续体软机器人的最新进展。与依赖刚性结构的传统机器人相比,水凝胶具有出色的柔韧性和适应性,使其成为仿生机器人皮肤以及构建高精度、实时响应传感界面的理想平台。本文系统总结了在几个关键维度上的最新研究进展,包括应用领域、制造方法、驱动技术和传感机制。从应用角度来看,进展涵盖医疗保健、制造业和农业。关于制造技术,本文广泛探讨了交联方法、增材制造、微流控技术及其他相关工艺。此外,本文对响应溶质/溶剂变化、pH值、化学反应、温度、光、磁场、电场、液压/电渗刺激和湿度的各种基于水凝胶的驱动器进行了分类并深入讨论。本文还详细介绍了设计和实现各种传感器的策略,包括应变传感器、压力传感器、湿度传感器、导电传感器、磁传感器、热传感器、气体传感器、光学传感器和多模态传感器。最后,本文深入讨论了基于水凝胶的连续体软机器人的潜在应用,特别强调了它们在医疗和工业领域的潜力。结束语包括一个前瞻性展望,突出了未来的挑战和有前景的研究方向。