Autonomous Soft Robots: Self-regulation, Self-sustained, and Recovery Strategies

Chen Zhu; Bo-Yu Liu; Li-Zhi Zhang; Lin Xu

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3284-z

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Autonomous Soft Robots: Self-regulation, Self-sustained, and Recovery Strategies

REVIEW | Updated：2025-07-14

- Autonomous Soft Robots: Self-regulation, Self-sustained, and Recovery Strategies
- Autonomous Soft Robots: Self-regulation, Self-sustained, and Recovery Strategies
- 高分子科学（英文） 2025年43卷第4期页码：535-547
- Affiliations：
  
  School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
- Author bio：
  
  1000003037@ujs.edu.cn
- Funds：
  
  This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52275290 and 51905222), the Research Project of State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Oscillation (No. MSV202419), Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) for Basic Theory and Key Technology of Tri-Co Robots (No. 92248301), Opening Project of the Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University (No. KF2023006), and Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (No. SJCX23_2091).;Lin Xu is the professor and Ph.D. supervisor at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University. Her current research interests include hydrogels, liquid-crystal elastomers, magnetic soft robotics, and flexible sensors.
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3284-z
  中图分类号：
- 收稿日期：2024-10-31，
  
  修回日期：2024-12-12，
  
  录用日期：2024-12-15，
  
  网络出版日期：2025-02-27，
  
  纸质出版日期：2025-04-01
- Accepted：
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Zhu, C.; Liu, B. Y.; Zhang, L. Z.; Xu, L. Autonomous soft robots: self-regulation, self-sustained, and recovery strategies. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 535–547

Chen Zhu, Bo-Yu Liu, Li-Zhi Zhang, et al. Autonomous Soft Robots: Self-regulation, Self-sustained, and Recovery Strategies[J]. Chinese journal of polymer science, 2025, 43(4): 535-547.
Zhu, C.; Liu, B. Y.; Zhang, L. Z.; Xu, L. Autonomous soft robots: self-regulation, self-sustained, and recovery strategies. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 535–547 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3284-z.

Chen Zhu, Bo-Yu Liu, Li-Zhi Zhang, et al. Autonomous Soft Robots: Self-regulation, Self-sustained, and Recovery Strategies[J]. Chinese journal of polymer science, 2025, 43(4): 535-547. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3284-z.

摘要

The review provides a comprehensive overview of the self-regulation strategies employed in the development of autonomous soft robots. These strategies encompass self-propulsion

self-oscillation

multi-stimulus-response mechanisms

as well as chirality and topological constraint structures.

Abstract

Autonomous

adaptable

and multimodal locomotion capabilities

which are crucial for the advanced intelligence of biological systems. A prominent focus of investigations in the domain of bionic soft robotics pertains to the emulation of autonomous motion

as observed in natural organisms. This research endeavor faces the challenge of enabling spontaneous and sustained motion in soft robots without relying on external stimuli. Considerable progress has been made in the development of autonomous bionic soft robots that utilize smart polymer materials

particularly in the realms of material design

microfabrication technology

and operational mechanisms. Nonetheless

there remains a conspicuous deficiency in the literature concerning a thorough review of this subject matter. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of autonomous soft robots that have been developed based on self-regulation strategies that encompass self-propulsion

self-oscillation

multi-stimulus response

and topological constraint structures. Furthermore

this review engages in an in-depth discussion regarding their tunable self-sustaining motion and recovery capabilities

while also contemplating the future development of autonomous soft robotic systems and their potential applications in fields such as biomechanics.

关键词

Keywords

references

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