Programmable somatosensory soft robots.

Antonia Georgopoulou, Malena Aguiriano Calvo, Lorenzo Lucherini, Sudong Lee, Josie Hughes, Esther Amstad

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Npj flexible electronics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

3D printable tough hydrogel actuators.Materials horizons · 2026
Review

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Antonia GeorgopoulouSoft Materials Laboratory, Institute of Materials (SMaL), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Malena Aguiriano CalvoSoft Materials Laboratory, Institute of Materials (SMaL), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Lorenzo LucheriniSoft Materials Laboratory, Institute of Materials (SMaL), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Sudong LeeCREATE Lab, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Josie HughesCREATE Lab, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Esther AmstadSoft Materials Laboratory, Institute of Materials (SMaL), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Robotic intelligence has advanced greatly in the past decade. Nevertheless, integrating embodied intelligent and responsive behavior into soft robotic systems remains challenging because it typically requires bulky hardware for environmental feedback and decision-making. While soft materials like poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) offer potential for simplified material-based actuation through temperature-responsive motion, their slow response and high energy demands limit their use in closed-loop control systems. To overcome this limitation, we present soft PNIPAM-based actuators with integrated hydrogel-based Joule heating, enabling localized actuation without significantly altering the temperature within 1 cm of the actuator. The potential of the material is demonstrated by processing it into a soft gripper that can lift up to three-fold its own weight with integrated capability to adjust its actuation in response to the gripped object. This design is well-suited for energy-efficient manipulation and sorting of delicate items, such as those found in automated packaging systems.

Indexed as

EngineeringMaterials science

Identifiers

PMID42022896

DOI10.1038/s41528-026-00558-0

PMCPMC13095659

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.