Soft robots built from compliant materials and deformable structures are increasingly used in medical intervention, wearable assistance, delicate manipulation, and environmental exploration, where conventional rigid robots are limited by high mechanical impedance and poor morphological adaptability. However, their transition from laboratory prototypes to deployable systems remains constrained by coupled bottlenecks in materials, actuation, sensing, modeling, control, energy supply, and manufacturing. This review summarizes recent advances in soft robotics through an evaluative framework covering actuation and materials, modeling and simulation, control strategies, multimodal sensing, and representative applications. Instead of treating these topics as independent descriptions, we compare the underlying mechanisms, measurable performance indicators, strengths, limitations, and application boundaries. Three conclusions emerge. First, no single actuation strategy can simultaneously maximize output force, response speed, energy efficiency, durability, miniaturization, and untethered operation. Second, high-fidelity continuum models improve physical accuracy but remain difficult to use for real-time control, whereas reduced-order and data-driven models improve efficiency at the cost of generalization, interpretability, or contact fidelity. Third, practical soft robots will depend on system-level integration of embedded sensing, physics-informed learning, robust control, reliable materials, and scalable fabrication. Future progress should therefore prioritize standardized benchmarks, lifecycle reliability, energy-autonomous operation, and task-specific comparisons with rigid robotic systems.

Glycine is a promising piezoelectric biocrystal owing to its excellent biocompatibility, strong piezoelectric response, and high crystallinity. Recent discovery of polymer‐directed crystallization of glycine in an aqueous environment offers the feasibility for continuous manufacturing of this biocrystal film at the industry‐relevant level. In this paper, we report continuous production of glycine‐PVA piezoelectric biocrystal thin films by adapting a commercial polymer manufacturing apparatus with a uniform sandwiched microstructure. By tuning the feeding rate and solvent evaporation dynamics, a stable crystallization front is maintained, enabling continuous film growth over lengths of tens of centimeters, which largely matches a numerical kinetic model. The as‐produced films exhibit sandwiched microstructure, with uniform thickness, grain size, and piezoelectric coefficient across the entire area. Fifty‐six piezoelectric nanogenerator devices were fabricated on a single large‐scale film, demonstrating the feasibility of high‐throughput device production. This work establishes a stable and industrially viable strategy for the large‐scale manufacturing of piezoelectric biocrystal films, offering significant potential for mass production of biocompatible piezoelectric devices.

Leadless intracardiac pacemakers (LIP) are a technological breakthrough that offer tremendous benefits to patients, including minimally invasive delivery, improved quality of life, and reduced financial burden. However, limited by its size and capacity, the battery component becomes a major roadblock to further advancing LIP technology toward lifelong, maintenance-free implants without the need for device retrieval or replacement. Here, we present an integrated, nanogenerator-powered LIP with a clinically compatible architecture. The LIP is solely powered by a double-oscillatory triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that is capable of generating a volumetric power density of 276.6 μW cc ⁻¹ driven by heartbeats. The miniaturized TENG can also fit within the battery compartment of a commercial Medtronic Micra LIP, allowing standard femoral-venous delivery by commercial catheters. When implanted in the heart of a swine model, the device delivers stable, rate-responsive electrical energy in vivo, which reliably supports the cardiac pacing function for heart rates control at physiological levels through harvested energy. Long-term intracardiac implantation further confirmed secure fixation, unaffected cardiac function and minimal tissue reaction of the fully integrated device. This development suggests a clinically compatible path toward self-sustainable intracardiac electronic systems.