Soft Robotics -- preview issue of groundbreaking journal on engineered soft devices that interact with living systems
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) has introduced a preview issue of Soft Robotics (SoRo), a new peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the science and engineering of soft materials in mobile machines. The scope and contents of the Journal capture the innovative research on robotic technology that is enabling robots to interact safely with living systems and to function in complex natural or human-built environments. Soft Robotics will be available online with Open Access options and in print. The articles in the preview issue are available free on the Soft Robotics website (http://www.liebertpub.com/soro)
The insightful Roundtable Discussion included in the preview issue, "At the Crossroads: Interdisciplinary Paths to Soft Robots," brings together experts in the many diverse fields needed for the successful development, integration, and application of this complex technology. The panelists discuss the challenges, opportunities, state-of-the-field, and future promise of soft robotics.
Participants in the Roundtable, who also contributed review articles to the preview issue, included Randy Ewoldt, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ("Extremely Soft: Design with Rheologically-Complex Fluids"), Mirko Kovač, Imperial College London, UK ("The Bioinspiration Design Paradigm: A Perspective for Soft Robotics"), Hod Lipson, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY ("Challenges and Opportunities for Design, Simulation, and Fabrication of Robots"), Nanshu Lu, University of Texas at Austin ("Flexible and Stretchable Electronics Paving the Way for Soft Robotics"), Mohsen Shahinpoor, University of Maine, Orono ("A Review of Ionic Polymeric Soft Actuators and Sensors"), and Carmel Majidi, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA ("Soft Robotics—A Perspective: Current Trends and Prospects for the Future").
The preview issue also includes the original research article "A Hybrid Combining Hard and Soft Robots" by A.A. Stokes et al., University of Edinburgh.
"The next frontier in robotics is to make machines that can assist us in everyday activities, at home, in the office, in hospitals, and even in natural environments," says Editor-in-Chief Barry A. Trimmer, PhD, Henry Bromfield Pearson Professor of Natural Sciences and Director, Neuromechanics and Biomimetic Devices Laboratory, Tufts University, Medford, MA. "Soft Robotics provides a forum, for the first time, for scientists and engineers across diverse fields to work together to build the next generation of interactive robots. This journal provides biologists, engineers, materials specialists, and computer scientists a common meeting place, and we are very excited about this new forum."
Provided by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc