Emerging Frontiers and Technological Challenges in Soft Robotics

Soft robotics is evolving from a field centered on compliant mechanisms toward a broader paradigm of embodied physical intelligence, in which materials, mechanics, sensing, and computation are deeply integrated. Despite rapid progress, major challenges remain in actuation, perception, autonomy, scalability, and real-world deployment. In this Nano Focus article, we highlight emerging frontiers and technological challenges spanning multifunctional materials, distributed sensing, additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and biohybrid systems. Advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology increasingly underpin these developments by enabling the integration of sensing, actuation, and adaptive functionalities across length scales. Collectively, these advances are establishing a foundation for intelligent matter, programmable physical intelligence, and life-like adaptive systems.