The Science of Soft Robots, Koichi Suzumori, Kenjiro Fukuda, Ryuma Niiyama, and Kohei Nakajima: ISBN 978-9811951732, Springer 2023 (book review)

Abstract # ↰

For today’s engineers who were kids in the 80s and the 90s, robots and Japan have always been deeply intertwined. We nurtured our engineering dreams with the adventures of giant robots like Goldrake, Great Mazinger, and Voltes V. These Japanese animated series offered us not only epic battles and heroic characters but also showcased technical feats and glimpses into the future. Somehow, reading the book The Science of Soft Robots, edited by Koichi Suzumori et al. and featuring contributions of several Japanese researchers, evokes similar impressions: an overview of the many facets of soft robots, a category of robots that are not yet widespread nor fully developed but which we are sure will play a key role in future robotics.