Soft robotic systems for sustainable biomedical applications

Recent advances in soft robotics have transformed the biomedical engineering frontier into a new paradigm, where robots are manufactured to be as close to natural organisms as possible in their softness, adaptability, and dexterity. In contrast to the conventional rigid robot, a soft robot uniquely utilizes compliant material intrinsically, hence enabling safer human-robot interaction, higher flexibility, and better wearability of its electronics. This has increased the span of application in biomedical robotics, with the inclusion of flexible fluidic actuators, shape memory alloys (SMAs), cable-driven mechanisms, magnetically driven systems, and soft sensors. Soft robotics for sustainable biomedical applications focuses on innovative human-centric design and manufacturing to improve performance and functionality. The integration of sensors and advanced control algorithms is also crucial to maximizing the autonomy and functionality of these robots in dynamic medical environments. Instead of employing fully rigid components, soft robotics utilize materials that permit required deformation, thereby enabling robotic devices to mimic the fluid and adaptive movement of biological systems. Furthermore, their gentle interactions with soft tissue make them ideal for a wide range of biomedical applications, where they can be used in delicate structures with enhanced surgical equipment. In the biomedical field, soft robotic systems present promising opportunities with a tailored biomedical approach. They demonstrate a novel methodology for less invasive surgical operations, necessitating enhanced patient safety. Additionally, the stiffness variability mechanism diminishes mechanical complexities and offers practical advantages in tailored device development with better human-soft robot interaction. Soft biomedical robotics technology has the potential to transform the development of many traditional biomedical devices with more suitable solutions for interaction with the human body. In the future, this technology will evolve via improving clinical outcomes, increasing sustainable customized human-centric applications, and accelerating advanced AI-driven design and additive manufacturing (AM) solutions.