A Literature Review of Additive Manufacturing in the Fabrication of Soft Robots: Main Techniques, Applications, and Related Industrial-Sized Machines

Abstract

Soft robots have been receiving unprecedented attention in recent years for being able to be used side-by-side with humans, exploring dangerous environments and confined spaces, moving across uneven terrain, and solving problems that rigid robots cannot solve. The wide range of additive manufacturing techniques has also boosted research in the area. This work summarizes the characteristics of the five most relevant techniques – FDM, DIW, SLS, Inkjet, and SLA – for fabricating soft robots together with case studies. A summary contains models of industrial-sized additive manufacturing machines that can compose a facility for fabricating large-scale soft robots.