Architected Materials for Soft Robotics

Abstract This perspective is based on a talk titled, “Soft Architected Robots: Printing Complex Forms for New Sensorimotor Capabilities in Robotics,” presented at the Fall 2024 Meeting of the Materials Research Society as part of the “Distinguished Invited Speaker” series. We highlight the latest progress in developing architected materials—namely kirigami, origami, auxetic structures, and lattices—for soft robots. In particular, we focus on recent examples of using soft, architected materials for soft robotic actuators, sensors, and sensorized soft actuators with embedded sensing capabilities. We provide an outlook on emerging opportunities in the use, design, and manufacturing of architected materials to advance the capabilities and practical performance of soft robots. We encourage the field to see this class of materials as essential to advancing robot capabilities more broadly beyond those afforded by traditional means and mechanisms. Graphical abstract