Soft Pumps: Catalysts for Advancing Fluid‐Driven Soft Robots

Abstract

Fluid‐driven soft robotics, inspired by biological systems, has emerged as a dynamic field in the past decades. Soft pumps, crucial components for soft robots to be untethered or wearable on the human body, offer unique features for propelling fluids. This article provides a concise perspective on recent advancements in soft pumps, including combustion‐driven, electrohydrodynamic, dielectric elastomer actuation, dielectrophoretic liquid zipping, magnetic actuation, thermally active soft pumps, and fluid‐driven volume amplification. Each technology is examined in terms of its working principles, advantages, and challenges. Looking ahead, critical challenges must be addressed to facilitate successful integration of soft pumps into real‐world applications, including healthcare and wearable‐assistive devices. As soft robotics continues to advance, future research directions involve enhancing safety measures, optimizing material properties, improving control precision, and advancing flexible electronics to ensure the seamless adoption of soft pumps in diverse real‐world scenarios. This perspective article serves as a guide to the current trends and challenges in the evolving field of soft pumps, laying the foundation for the future development and application of fluid‐driven soft robotics.