Soft Robotics
by Laschi
| ISBN: 9780262049740 | Copyright 2025
Instructor Requests
Soft robotics is quickly transforming corners of our world, but as yet there has been no comprehensive treatment of the young field. Filling this gap, Soft Robotics offers a systematic approach to learning the subject’s essential ideas, methods, and techniques. Cecelia Laschi takes a holistic view that integrates interdisciplinary material and provides a conceptual structure that can withstand the discipline’s fast-paced evolution. Laschi first presents robotics basics and the commonly used bioinspired methods before covering materials and technologies for actuation and sensing, modeling internal and external interactions, and soft robot control with model-based and learning-based approaches. Written by a pioneer of the field and honed by classroom experience, this timely textbook is an essential roadmap for anyone studying soft robotics.
- Comprehensive, structured coverage of soft robotics, from fundamentals to advanced techniques
- Pragmatic modular structure adapts to different curricula
- Suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals
- Instructor resources include slides, videos, and exercises
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| Contents (pg. vii) | |
| Preface (pg. xi) | |
| Acknowledgments (pg. xiii) | |
| 1. Introduction to Soft Robotics (pg. 1) | |
| Chapter Objectives (pg. 1) | |
| 1.1. Overview (pg. 1) | |
| 1.2. Why Soft Robotics? (pg. 1) | |
| 1.3. What Is Soft Robotics? (pg. 3) | |
| 1.4. Brief History of Soft Robotics (pg. 4) | |
| 1.5. Challenges and Milestones in Soft Robotics (pg. 6) | |
| 1.6. What’s Next in Soft Robotics? (pg. 11) | |
| 1.7. Summary (pg. 11) | |
| Self-Assessment Questions (pg. 12) | |
| Further Readings (pg. 12) | |
| 2. Robotics Basics (pg. 13) | |
| Chapter Objectives (pg. 13) | |
| 2.1. Overview (pg. 13) | |
| 2.2. Robot Mechanics (pg. 14) | |
| 2.3. Robot Proprioceptive Sensors (pg. 18) | |
| 2.4. Robot Control (pg. 23) | |
| 2.5. Robot Exteroceptive Sensors (pg. 27) | |
| 2.6. Robot Architectures (pg. 30) | |
| 2.7. Summary (pg. 33) | |
| Self-Assessment Questions (pg. 33) | |
| Further Readings (pg. 34) | |
| 3. Bioinspiration and Biomimetics (pg. 35) | |
| Chapter Objectives (pg. 35) | |
| 3.1. Overview (pg. 35) | |
| 3.2. Why Bioinspiration and Biomimetics? (pg. 35) | |
| 3.3. What Are Bioinspiration and Biomimetics? (pg. 36) | |
| 3.4. Brief History of Bioinspiration and Biomimetics (pg. 39) | |
| 3.5. Biorobotics (pg. 43) | |
| 3.6. Simplexity (pg. 44) | |
| 3.7. Embodied Intelligence (pg. 46) | |
| 3.8. Bioinspired Principles in Control: Neurocontrollers (pg. 48) | |
| 3.9. A Methodology for Biorobotics (pg. 49) | |
| 3.10. Summary (pg. 51) | |
| Self-Assessment Questions (pg. 51) | |
| 4. Soft Robotics Technologies (pg. 53) | |
| Chapter Objectives (pg. 53) | |
| 4.1. Overview (pg. 53) | |
| 4.2. Materials for Soft Robotics (pg. 54) | |
| 4.3. Actuation Technologies for Soft Robotics (pg. 58) | |
| 4.4. Stiffening Technologies for Soft Robotics (pg. 66) | |
| 4.5. Sensing Technologies for Soft Robotics (pg. 68) | |
| 4.6. Deformable Structures (pg. 70) | |
| 4.7. Summary (pg. 70) | |
| Self-Assessment Questions (pg. 71) | |
| Further Readings (pg. 71) | |
| 5. Soft Robot Modeling (pg. 73) | |
| Chapter Objectives (pg. 73) | |
| 5.1. Overview (pg. 73) | |
| 5.2. One Equation for Modeling Soft Robots (pg. 73) | |
| 5.3. Modeling Internal Interactions (pg. 74) | |
| 5.4. Modeling External Interactions (pg. 78) | |
| 5.5. Reduced-Order Models (pg. 82) | |
| 5.6. Data-Driven Approaches (pg. 83) | |
| 5.7. Summary (pg. 83) | |
| Self-Assessment Questions (pg. 83) | |
| Further Readings (pg. 84) | |
| 6. Soft Robot Control (pg. 85) | |
| Chapter Objectives (pg. 85) | |
| 6.1. Overview (pg. 85) | |
| 6.2. Soft Robot Control Problems (pg. 85) | |
| 6.3. Soft Robot Controllers (pg. 86) | |
| 6.4. Soft Robot Neurocontrollers (pg. 88) | |
| 6.5. Summary (pg. 89) | |
| Self-Assessment Questions (pg. 90) | |
| Further Readings (pg. 90) | |
| 7. Soft Robotics in Practice (pg. 91) | |
| Chapter Objectives (pg. 91) | |
| 7.1. Overview (pg. 91) | |
| 7.2. Bioinspired Principles (pg. 91) | |
| 7.3. Materials, Actuators, Sensors (pg. 95) | |
| 7.4. Modeling Internal and External Interactions (pg. 97) | |
| 7.5. Model-Based and Learning-Based Control (pg. 99) | |
| 7.6. Summary (pg. 99) | |
| Self-Assessment Questions (pg. 100) | |
| Further Readings (pg. 100) | |
| 8. Conclusions (pg. 103) | |
| Chapter Objectives (pg. 103) | |
| 8.1. Overview (pg. 103) | |
| 8.2. Our Journey in Soft Robotics (pg. 103) | |
| 8.3. Soft Robot Abilities (pg. 104) | |
| 8.4. Soft Robot Applications (pg. 106) | |
| 8.5. A Vision for Future Soft Robots (pg. 107) | |
| Self-Assessment Questions (pg. 107) | |
| Further Readings (pg. 108) | |
| Notes (pg. 109) | |
| Chapter 1 (pg. 109) | |
| Chapter 2 (pg. 109) | |
| Chapter 3 (pg. 109) | |
| Chapter 4 (pg. 109) | |
| Chapter 5 (pg. 110) | |
| Chapter 7 (pg. 110) | |
| References (pg. 111) | |
| Index (pg. 113) | |
| Series List (pg. 117) | |
| Instructors Only | |
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