A Decade of Soft Robotic Manipulators: Advances in Design, Modeling, Control, and Emerging Challenges

Abstract Soft robotic manipulators represent a rapidly evolving field characterized by inherent compliance, adaptability, and safe interactions within unstructured environments. Over the past decade (2015–2025), significant advancements have transformed their capabilities through novel designs inspired by biological systems, advanced modeling frameworks, sophisticated control strategies, and integration into diverse real-world applications. Recent innovations in multifunctional materials and emerging actuation technologies have markedly expanded manipulator performance, reliability, and dexterity. Concurrently, developments in modeling have progressed from simplified geometric methods toward highly accurate physics-based and hybrid data-driven approaches, substantially improving real-time prediction and controllability. Coupled with these developments, adaptive and robust control strategies–including learning-based techniques–have enabled unprecedented autonomy and precision in challenging application domains such as Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS), precision agriculture, deep-sea exploration, disaster recovery, and space missions. Despite these remarkable strides, key challenges remain, notably regarding scalability, long-term material durability, robust integrated sensing, and standardized evaluation procedures. This review comprehensively synthesizes recent advances, critically evaluates state-of-the-art methodologies, and systematically identifies existing gaps to provide a clear roadmap and targeted research directions, guiding future developments toward the broader adoption and optimal utilization of soft robotic manipulators.