Recent Advances in Flexible Pumps and Their Applications

ABSTRACT With the increasing demand for highly integrated and controllable fluid systems in fields such as flexible electronics, intelligent healthcare, and bionic engineering, flexible pumps, featuring inherent safety, compact structure, great compliance, and precise flow control, have gradually become a research hotspot and technological frontier to meet the diverse demands in specific environments. Herein, preparing an efficient flexible pump represents a crucial challenge. This review delves into the research progress and development trends of flexible pumps with a specific focus on their working mechanisms and performance. In addition, their burgeoning requirements and applications across diverse fields are explored. Finally, the technical challenges of flexible pumps in terms of design, materials, and system integration are discussed, and possible future research and development directions for propelling this emerging field forward are also proposed.