Deep Learning Methods in Soft Robotics: Architectures and Applications

The area of soft robotics has been subject to intense research efforts in the past two decades and constitutes a paradigm for advanced machine design in future robotic applications. However, standard methods for industrial robotics may be difficult to apply when analyzing soft robots. Deep learning, which has undergone rapid and transformative advancements in recent years, offers a set of powerful tools for analyzing and designing complex soft machines capable of operating in unstructured environments and interacting with humans and objects in a delicate manner. This review summarizes the most important state-of-the-art deep learning architectures classified under supervised, unsupervised, semisupervised, and reinforcement learning scenarios and discusses their main features and benefits for different soft robotic applications, including soft robot manipulators, soft grippers, soft sensors, and e-skins, as well as bioinspired soft robots. Specific properties of recent deep learning architectures and the usefulness of their features in addressing various types of issues found in soft robotics are analyzed. The existing challenges and future prospects are identified and discussed in view of the enhanced integration of both areas, which improves the performance of next-generation soft machines operating in real-world conditions.