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Soft Robotics: Flexible 3D Printed Machines and the Next Revolution

Dec 04, 2025

Article by Aimee Gilmore

"Robots are the pioneers of exploring places where humans cannot go." (David Hanson)

Reference: Soft Robotic Hands

Soft robotics is emerging as a promising alternative to traditional rigid machines, offering flexibility, adaptability, and safer interaction through the use of soft, deformable materials. Until recently, these robots were difficult and costly to manufacture, but advances in 3D printing now allow engineers to easily create complex shapes and combine soft and rigid parts in a single build. With new low-cost printers and breakthroughs such as fully 3D printed robots that can walk using only air-powered mechanisms, the technology is becoming more accessible and practical. As these developments spread beyond research labs, flexible 3D printed robots are beginning to influence fields such as healthcare, agriculture, and environmental exploration, raising the question of whether they represent the next major step forward in robotics.

Timeline of Soft Robotics

Soft and flexible 3D printed robots have advanced rapidly, beginning in 2011 with early soft actuators made from molded elastomers. By 2014, researchers had produced the first fully 3D printed soft components, and in 2016, multi-material printing enabled the creation of more complex soft robotic structures. In 2018, fully printed soft grippers capable of handling delicate objects emerged, and from 2020 onward, improvements in materials and embedded sensing greatly expanded functionality. A major leap occurred in 2025, when the University of Edinburgh introduced an affordable printer that produced complete soft robots that could walk immediately after printing, using simple air-based control. By 2026, these advances were driving wider adoption of soft robotics in healthcare, agriculture, and environmental applications.

Why Flexible 3D Printed Robots Are Emerging as a Game Changer

Flexible 3D printed robots are revolutionizing the field by integrating both soft and rigid elements into a single design, enabling machines to bend, adapt, and perform delicate tasks with precision. For instance, soft robotic grippers can pick strawberries without causing any damage, a task that rigid robots struggle with. The technology also speeds up innovation, allowing engineers to design and print new robotic fingers capable of handling fragile labware in just a day. Low-cost and accessible printers let people create small walking robots that move immediately after printing.

Reference: Soft Robot Gripper

Seamless Design Freedom

Flexible 3D printed robots enable engineers to combine soft and rigid components into a single design, creating machines that are both adaptable and structurally robust. This approach enables robots to perform delicate or complex tasks that would be difficult with traditional rigid designs.

ACEO uses silicone 3D printing to produce soft grippers and actuators that can bend and stretch while maintaining precision. Research collaborations, such as BASF's with UC San Diego, have enabled the fabrication of fully printed soft robots with embedded fluidic circuits, demonstrating how additive manufacturing can combine flexibility and strength in a single step.

Reference: 3D Robotic Printing Process

Faster Prototyping

3D printing enables engineers to design, produce, and test complex soft robots much more quickly than traditional manufacturing. Prototypes that once took weeks to build can now be printed in hours, allowing designers to observe performance, make adjustments, and iterate rapidly.

Harvard's Wyss Institute has used 3D printing to create soft robotic crawlers for lab experiments. These robots can be printed in a single run, tested immediately, and refined on the spot, dramatically speeding up development and enabling more experimentation with new movements and materials.

Reference: The Flex Printer

Expanding Applications

Flexible 3D printed robots are opening new possibilities in fields where adaptability, safety, and gentle handling are essential. Their ability to bend, stretch, and conform to delicate or unpredictable environments makes them ideal for tasks that rigid robots cannot easily perform.

In healthcare, flexible 3D printed surgical tools can assist with minimally invasive procedures, reducing patient risk. These real-world applications demonstrate how soft robotics is moving beyond the lab to solve practical problems across multiple industries.

References: Surgical Tools

What are the Current Limitations of Soft Robotics?

Soft robots rely on elastomers, silicones, and other flexible polymers that enable them to bend and stretch, but these materials can degrade with repeated use. They may tear, puncture, or lose elasticity over time, reducing their reliability in demanding or long-duration tasks. This makes high-load or harsh-environment applications difficult, and although stronger composites and self-healing materials are being developed, improving durability without compromising flexibility remains a major challenge.

Material Durability

Soft robots are typically made from elastomers, silicones, or other flexible polymers. While these materials allow bending and stretching, they can wear out, tear, or lose elasticity over time. This makes long-term use or high-load tasks challenging, especially at points where soft and rigid parts connect.

Soft robotic grippers used in agricultural harvesting can degrade after repeated use, particularly when picking heavier or rough-textured fruits. Engineers are exploring reinforced materials and hybrid designs to improve lifespan, but durability remains a key limitation for applications that require continuous or heavy-duty operation.

Limited Strength and Precision

Soft robots excel at adaptability and gentle handling, but they often lack the strength, speed, or precise control of rigid robots. Tasks that require lifting heavy objects or performing delicate, high-accuracy manipulations can be difficult for soft designs.

Soft robotic arms used in lab experiments can handle delicate labware but struggle with heavier samples or tasks requiring precise positioning, limiting their use in some industrial processes.

Reference: MIT Soft Robotic Arm

Standardization and Scalability

Many soft robotics designs are custom-built or experimental, requiring specialized printers, materials, or expertise. This limits the ability to mass-produce or replicate designs for broader applications.

The University of Edinburgh's Flex Printer enables low-cost soft-robot production in labs, but scaling this technology to industrial volumes remains challenging due to material and manufacturing constraints.

Reference: Soft Robotic Muscle at Edinburgh University

Control Challenges

Soft robots are often powered by pneumatic or hydraulic systems, which can limit mobility, autonomy, and operational range. Controlling complex movements with fluidic systems is more difficult than using rigid mechanical joints.

Soft-crawling robots in laboratory experiments require a continuous air supply to move, limiting their use in untethered or outdoor environments.

Reference: DSpace@MIT

The integration of soft robotics with 3D printing is creating a new generation of robots that are flexible, safe, and increasingly accessible. Although issues such as material durability, sensor integration, and overall performance still pose challenges, rapid progress in prototyping and practical applications suggests that flexible 3D printed robots have the potential to transform industries such as healthcare and agriculture.

While they are unlikely to fully replace traditional rigid robots, they are enabling tasks that were previously difficult or impossible, from performing delicate surgical procedures to facilitating safe collaboration between humans and machines in unpredictable environments. These advancements suggest that soft, 3D printed robots could indeed mark the next major step forward in robotics, and for more insights into emerging technologies, make sure to subscribe to the RenderHub blog.

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