This paper presents a fast rolling soft robot (RSR) driven by dielectric elastomer (DE). Through novel structure design based on multisegment dielectric elastomer minimum energy structure, the robot appears to be a fully flexible circular configuration with excellent ability of active deformation for its body controlled by applied voltages. An equivalent pseudo-rigid-body model is developed to provide an effective analysis for the deformation and rolling mechanism. The detailed fabrication process is described, and then a robot prototype is fabricated. The resulting RSR weighs 0.88 g with a diameter of 49.66 mm, which exhibits uniquely advantageous properties including low mass, mechanical flexibility and resilience, silent operation, and fast response. Controlled by three sequential open-loop control signals generated by a developed multiplex high-voltage control system, the robot prototype can realize continuous and steady rolling locomotion on flat ground. The response time of active deformation and restoration of the robot is less than 50 ms, the speed-mass ratio is about 41.22 mm/(sg) and the maximum speed-diameter ratio reaches approximately 0.95 s$^{-1}$ . Compared with the previous similar RSRs, our robot demonstrates higher rolling speed and larger speed-mass ratio, which can find potential future use in scouting and exploration missions.

This review focuses on the fundamentals and state-of-the-art label-free manipulation techniques based on the magneto-Archimedes effect.

Incorporating soft actuation with soft yet durable textiles could effectively endow the latter with active and flexible shape morphing and motion like mollusks and plants. However, creating highly programmable and customizable soft robots based on textiles faces a longstanding design and manufacturing challenge. Here, we report a methodology of encoded sewing constraints for efficiently constructing three-dimensional (3D) soft textile robots through a simple 2D sewing process. By encoding heterogeneous stretching properties into three spatial seams of the sewed 3D textile shells, nonlinear inflation of the inner bladder can be guided to follow the predefined spatial shape and actuation sequence, for example, tendril-like shape morphing, tentacle-like sequential manipulation, and bioinspired locomotion only controlled by single pressure source. Such flexible, efficient, scalable, and low-cost design and formation methodology will accelerate the development and iteration of soft robots and also open up more opportunities for safe human-robot interactions, tailored wearable devices, and health care.

Soft robots capable of flexible deformations and agile locomotion similar to biological systems are highly desirable for promising applications, including safe human-robot interactions and biomedical engineering. Their achievable degree of freedom and motional deftness are limited by the actuation modes and controllable dimensions of constituent soft actuators. Here, we report self-vectoring electromagnetic soft robots (SESRs) to offer new operational dimensionality via actively and instantly adjusting and synthesizing the interior electromagnetic vectors (EVs) in every flux actuator sub-domain of the robots. As a result, we can achieve high-dimensional operation with fewer actuators and control signals than other actuation methods. We also demonstrate complex and rapid 3D shape morphing, bioinspired multimodal locomotion, as well as fast switches among different locomotion modes all in passive magnetic fields. The intrinsic fast (re)programmability of SESRs, along with the active and selective actuation through self-vectoring control, significantly increases the operational dimensionality and possibilities for soft robots.

Soft robots, with their compliant bodies, minimal environmental disturbance, and ability to withstand ambient pressures, offer promising solutions for deep-sea exploration. However, a common challenge of stiffening in soft materials impairs their effective actuation in harsh conditions. In this work, we integrated a liquid dielectric plasticizer within an electrohydraulic soft robot, serving dual critical functions as a softening agent to maintain the softness of the polymer shell and an electrohydraulic fluid for efficient actuation. In addition, by using the surrounding seawater as alternating electrodes, we prevented charge retention in dielectric layers, enabling sustained actuation performance. Field tests at depths of ~1360, 3176, and ~4071 meters confirmed the robot’s ability to sense the environment, navigate complex trajectories, and withstand unsteady disturbances. Our work offers a generalized and straightforward framework for developing soft materials tailored for deep-sea applications, paving the way for soft robots to execute real-world missions.