Soft Robotics and Applications
Soft Robotics and Applications is a research topic within Biomedical Engineering. Science Explorer counts 28k research works in it since 1951. 17.5% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the design, fabrication, and control of soft robotic systems, with applications in areas such as minimally invasive surgery, bioinspired robotics, continuum robots, and pneumatic actuators. The research covers topics such as kinematic modeling, robotic manipulators, and biomedical applications of soft robotics.
- Soft Robotics
- Bioinspired Robotics
- Continuum Robots
- Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Robotic Manipulators
- Pneumatic Actuators
- Kinematic Modeling
- Surgical Robotics
- Flexible Actuators
- Biomedical Applications
- Research works
- 28k fractional, since 1951
- In the world top 10%
- 4.8k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 17.5% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +50% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Soft Robotics and Applications research?
By volume, China and the United States publish the most (2.8k and 991 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China 2.8k works
- 2 United States 991 works
- 3 Japan 683 works
- 4 United Kingdom 325 works
- 5 Germany 274 works
- 6 India 255 works
- 7 South Korea 239 works
- 8 Italy 234 works
- 9 France 167 works
- 10 Canada 137 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Soft Robotics and Applications research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Harbin Institute of Technology publishes the most Soft Robotics and Applications research, followed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Chinese University of Hong Kong.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 141 works
- 2 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 95 works
- 3 Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong 66 works
- 4 Tsinghua UniversityChina 64 works
- 5 Zhejiang UniversityChina 62 works
- 6 Beihang UniversityChina 58 works
- 7 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 55 works
- 8 Beijing Institute of TechnologyChina 49 works
- 9 Tianjin UniversityChina 47 works
- 10 The University of TokyoJapan 43 works
Who are the leading researchers in Soft Robotics and Applications?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Soft Robotics and Applications include Roland Siegwart and Daniela Rus.
- 1 Roland Siegwart Switzerland 3.3k citations
- 2 Daniela Rus United States 3.2k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Soft Robotics and Applications research done?
The largest centres of Soft Robotics and Applications research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Tokyo (Japan) and Harbin (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Qinhuangdao and Genoa.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- QinhuangdaoCN · 32.3 works11×
- GenoaIT · 30.8 works7.3×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Soft Robotics and Applications than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Soft Robotics and Applications?
Among universities, judged by research, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Harbin Institute of Technology and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong | 72.7 | 21.7% | 13.1× | 66 | +125.4% |
| 2 | Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina | 65.9 | 20.5% | 11.9× | 141 | +50.9% |
| 3 | École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneSwitzerland | 60.7 | 30.9% | 8.4× | 25 | +40.8% |
| 4 | ETH ZurichSwitzerland | 57.5 | 46.2% | 4.1× | 20 | +41.5% |
| 5 | National University of SingaporeSingapore | 57.2 | 18.0% | 5.2× | 36 | +353.8% |
| 6 | Chinese University of Hong Kong, ShenzhenChina | 56.3 | 22.7% | 11.7× | 16 | — |
| 7 | Scuola Superiore Sant'AnnaItaly | 53.9 | 18.9% | 37.6× | 26 | +26.6% |
| 8 | Singapore University of Technology and DesignSingapore | 53.5 | 7.9% | 12.4× | 8 | +805.2% |
| 9 | University of Electro-CommunicationsJapan | 53.3 | 6.4% | 26.3× | 22 | +193.6% |
| 10 | Imperial College LondonUnited Kingdom | 52.7 | 21.1% | 5.7× | 37 | +90.2% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Soft Robotics and Applications research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 50% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Soft Robotics and Applications.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.