A Review on Sensor Technologies, Control Approaches, and Emerging Challenges in Soft Robotics

The growing interest in soft robotics stems from the flexibility of soft systems and their unique capacity to adapt to complex tasks that are often unachievable with rigid robots. However, this adaptability comes with significant challenges, particularly in monitoring and controlling systems that possess potentially infinite degrees of freedom. This review offers an overview of the diverse sensing and control strategies employed in soft robotics. We offer an overview of sensor characteristics used in soft robots. These sensors are categorized according to the physical quantities they detect and their specific functions, illustrating their practical applications. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive classification of the literature based on the functional roles of control strategies in soft systems—such as motion control (e.g., pose and tip controllers) and force control for tasks like grasping, manipulation, and locomotion—highlighting the central importance of real‐time sensory feedback. The survey also discusses key limitations and outlines promising directions to support the development of advanced sensing and control frameworks for next‐generation soft robots.