A Comprehensive Review Focused on the Whole Systems of the Soft Robotics, its Design Strategies and Outlook on the Future Considerations for the Soft Robots

Soft robotics is a rapidly emerging area in healthcare and biomedical applications due to recent developments in functional materials and fabrications. This review will focus on the position that soft robotics have in medical application as the result of compliance, adaptability and safe interaction with people in comparison to conventional rigid robots. We also discuss various application areas including surgical instruments, pharmaceuticals, orthopaedic implants and clothing accessories contending that the addition of hydrogels and silicone elastomers makes them more functional and biocompatible. However, several problems remain, some of which are summarized as follows: problems of material endurance, the ability to exert a fine degree of control and the question of the technology’s applicability on a large scale. This review not only presents the solutions to these challenges but also introduces the current trend in the fabrication of sub 1000 μm soft robots and systems with enhanced control. We suggest that by summarizing here some of the most recent advancements and the lines of active research, it is possible to provide the biomedical soft robotics with potential frameworks for new developments. The last section of the article rest on the transformative potential of these technologies for individualized medicine and patient care with a call for interprofessional collaboration to overcome the present obstacles and unlock the full opportunity of soft robotics in biomedical arena.