In recent years, soft robotics has developed considerably, especially since the year 2018 when it became a hot field among current research topics. The attention that this field receives from researchers and the public is marked by the substantial increase in both the quantity and the quality of scientific publications. In this review, in order to create a relevant and comprehensive picture of this field both quantitatively and qualitatively, the paper approaches two directions. The first direction is centered on a bibliometric analysis focused on the period 2008–2022 with the exact expression that best characterizes this field, which is “Soft Robotics”, and the data were taken from a series of multidisciplinary databases and a specialized journal. The second direction focuses on the analysis of bibliographic references that were rigorously selected following a clear methodology based on a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the selection of bibliographic sources, 111 papers were part of the final analysis, which have been analyzed in detail considering three different perspectives: one related to the design principle (biologically inspired soft robotics), one related to functionality (closed/open-loop control), and one from a biomedical applications perspective.

This work aims to identify the effects that a series of environmental factors, specific to the industrial conditions, have on the materials in the structure of soft robots and, therefore, on soft robotics systems. The purpose is to understand the changes in the mechanical characteristics of silicone materials, with the aim of transferring soft robotics applications from the sphere of services in the industrial field. Distilled water, hydraulic oil, cooling oil, and UV rays are the environmental factors considered in which the specimens were immersed/exposed for 24 h according to ISO-62/2008. The analysis was carried out on two of the most widely used materials in the field, belonging to the category of silicone rubber, which were subjected to uniaxial tensile tests on the strength testing machine Titan 2 Universal. The results show that the greatest impact on the characteristics of the two materials was when exposed to UV rays, while the other media tested had relatively little impact on the mechanical and elastic properties (tensile strength, elongation at break, and tensile modulus) of these materials.

This paper analyzes the influence of industrial environmental factors on the mechanical and physical characteristics of polyoxymethylene (POM), a semicrystalline polymer commonly used in industrial applications due to its strength and dimensional stability. The study exposed POM samples to four...

This study evaluates the four-point flexural behavior of polyoxymethylene (POM) specimens exposed to different environmental conditions. Ten specimens were tested, for each of which five different mediums were studied: ambient environment, distilled water, cooling oil, UV-C radiation, and saline solution. The main objective was to find the influence of these environments on maximum bending stress and compare the values obtained for all four aggressive mediums to the value for the ambient environment. The results showed that exposure to the three liquid media-distilled water, cooling oil, and salt solution-leads to a reduction in bending stress, underscoring the potential weakening effects of these media. In contrast, samples exposed to UV-C showed an increase in bending stress, suggesting an increase in material stiffness under these conditions. This study provides guidelines for the optimal use of POM in various applications and provides clear information on its mechanical performance in various industrial and environmental environments.

The aim of the present work is to analyze by experimental methods the influence of printing strategies on the mechanical behavior of TPU 85A elastomeric material under compressive stress. We analyzed 3D printed specimens which were realized with three different printing strategies (circular, lines and zig-zag), the rest of the printing parameters remaining unchanged. The 3D printing was carried out using an Ultimaker 3 3D printer and the experimental tests were performed on a Galdabini Quasar 25 uniaxial testing machine with specimens of size 10x10 mm according to ISO 604:2002. The results of the experimental tests show that the specimens with the circular printing strategy obtained the lowest values of elastic deformation, and the compressive strength reached the highest value of the three analyzed variants. These experimental results can contribute to the development and improvement of the characteristics of actuators or soft robots realized by 3D printing technology.

Polyamide 6 (PA6), also known as Nylon 6, is a thermoplastic material that belongs to the nylon polymer class. Its structure includes repeating amid groups (-CONH-) within the molecular chain. Due to its semicrystalline configuration, this polymer is characterized by outstanding mechanical properties, such as high tensile strength and a significant ability to resist impact. This paper focuses on the impact of environmental factors on the mechanical and elastic characteristics of PA6, with the main objective of identifying how various external factors influence the mechanical and elastic characteristics of this material used in various industrial applications, all of which is intended to support future investigations on the behavior of these types of materials in different other working environments. However, the interaction of these materials with various environmental factors leads to structural and functional changes that can compromise or, in some cases, improve their performance. Recent studies in the field of materials science and mechanical engineering are based on the impact of environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, ultraviolet radiation, and exposure to various chemicals on the mechanical and elastic properties of polymers.