Liquid Metal Sensors for Soft Robots

Soft robotics holds immense promise for revolutionizing modern society. However, traditional rigid sensors are fundamentally incompatible with the deformable nature of soft robots, while many existing flexible sensors often lack the necessary stretchability, self‐healing capabilities, and robustness required for real‐world use. This review addresses such challenge by providing a comprehensive interpretation of liquid metal sensors, aiming to overcome the limitations hindering soft robot development. We delve into their unique physical and chemical properties which render them ideally suited for integration into flexible robotic systems. Then, we categorize liquid metal sensor working principles, outlining structured sensing mechanisms. Their groundbreaking applications in soft robots span environmental perception, motion detection, and human–robot interaction. Crucially, we highlight the unique self‐adaption and self‐healing capabilities of these sensors, ensuring the long‐term reliability and resilience of soft robots operating in complex and unpredictable environments. The article culminates in perspective of performance enhancement strategies, including multifunctional and multimodal liquid metal sensors, sensor arrays, integrated systems, device manufacture, and the synergistic artificial intelligence for advanced data processing and smart sensing. It is expected to provide a basic reference for the coming research in the area.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Robotics Research
Published
2025-06-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adrr.202500057
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.37

Funders

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article

Liquid Metal Sensors for Soft Robots

Yibing Ma, Tangzhen Guan, Nan Li, Qi Zhang et al.
5 citations
Advanced Robotics Research
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
3.37
article

Liquid Metal Sensors for Soft Robots

Yibing Ma, Tangzhen Guan, Nan Li, Qi Zhang, Jing Liu, Yujia Song, Cheng Cai, Chen Hua
article en
5 citations

Abstract

Soft robotics holds immense promise for revolutionizing modern society. However, traditional rigid sensors are fundamentally incompatible with the deformable nature of soft robots, while many existing flexible sensors often lack the necessary stretchability, self‐healing capabilities, and robustness required for real‐world use. This review addresses such challenge by providing a comprehensive interpretation of liquid metal sensors, aiming to overcome the limitations hindering soft robot development. We delve into their unique physical and chemical properties which render them ideally suited for integration into flexible robotic systems. Then, we categorize liquid metal sensor working principles, outlining structured sensing mechanisms. Their groundbreaking applications in soft robots span environmental perception, motion detection, and human–robot interaction. Crucially, we highlight the unique self‐adaption and self‐healing capabilities of these sensors, ensuring the long‐term reliability and resilience of soft robots operating in complex and unpredictable environments. The article culminates in perspective of performance enhancement strategies, including multifunctional and multimodal liquid metal sensors, sensor arrays, integrated systems, device manufacture, and the synergistic artificial intelligence for advanced data processing and smart sensing. It is expected to provide a basic reference for the coming research in the area.

Advanced Robotics Research
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
3.37
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