Smart materials are a family of materials that can actively respond to physical, chemical or biological stimuli. They can achieve complex deformations in a controllable and reversibly way by programming the characteristics of the materials.

The responses, including dimension, stiffness, colour, phase, and electrical and magnetic properties, can be used to generate new actuators and artificial muscles, sensors and computers. This creates opportunities for a wide range of applications where intelligent and compliant interactions are required, including:

• locomotion
• flexible electronics
• wearable devices,
• energy harvesting
• implantable biomedical devices

This shows that soft robotics can deliver transformative technologies and revolutionise the future.