8. Soft robotics

Research

Photo from Design World

Soft robotics is a field of robotics that focuses on building machines from flexible, adaptable, and compliant materials—often inspired by biology—rather than rigid metals and traditional mechanical parts. These robots bend, twist, inflate, stretch, grip, and move like natural organisms.

Soft robots are typically made from materials such as: • Silicone elastomers • Hydrogels • Rubber • Textiles • Air-bladder systems and inflatables • 3D printable flexible polymers

They often use air pressure, fluid channels, pneumatic systems, or shape-memory materials to create movement. Unlike rigid robots, soft robots are safer around humans, can adapt to fragile or irregular objects, have more organic, lifelike movement, can squeeze into tight or complex spaces, and reduce impact during collisions (ideal for healthcare, agriculture, and wearable technology)

Soft robotics is especially influential in: • Medical devices (prosthetics, assistive devices, artificial muscles) • Wearable technology (exosuits, therapy devices) • Biologically inspired machines (octopus tentacles, starfish limbs) • Fashion design innovations (inflatable garments, animated clothing)

Soft robotics has influenced experimental fashion by: • Creating garments that move, inflate, or shape-shift • Enabling clothing that reacts to the environment (heat, touch, breath) • Supporting inclusive design (assistive clothing with grip or lift systems)

References & Inspiration

Craig Green

Craig Green is a British fashion designer widely recognized for his conceptual approach to menswear, where sculptural silhouettes, volume, and emotional depth converge. A key aspect of his work involves the use of inflated or inflatable-inspired forms—voluminous outerwear pieces that look as though they could be flotation devices or wearable architecture. In collaboration with Moncler’s Genius line-up, Green created outerwear that fused his sculptural aesthetic with Moncler’s heritage of down and protection. One notable collection presented outerwear pieces resembling “human flotation devices” or inflated life-rafts.

Photo from Deezeen Magazine

Photo from denimjeansobserver.com

Fredrik Tjærandsen

Fredrik Tjærandsen is a Norwegian fashion designer celebrated for his surreal, inflatable, bubble-like garments that captivated the global fashion industry during his BA graduation show at Central Saint Martins in 2019. His work sits at the intersection of sculpture, performance art, wearable architecture, and emotional storytelling, making him one of the most iconic voices in conceptual fashion of the last decade. In his viral 2019 BA collection: (1) Models walked wearing enormous inflated spheres in translucent colors (yellow, red, blue, green). (2) As they deflated the structures on the runway, the inflated bubbles collapsed into sculptural skirts, dresses, or wrapped volumes. (3) The audience witnessed a live metamorphosis — a performance in real time.

Both photos from nss magazine

Tools

- Cricut Maker
- Adobe Illustrator

Materials

• Heat transfer vinyl (HTV)

Process and workflow

Build a pneumatic wrist brace

This project explores the creation of a pneumatic wrist brace using soft materials and simple air-based components to provide adjustable support and comfort. The brace was constructed using a fabric base, inflatable bladder material, tubing, and hand-operated inflation tools, allowing the user to control pressure manually. The process began by cutting a wrist-shaped fabric pattern that serves as the outer structure of the brace. A flexible air bladder was placed inside this structure and connected to tubing that allows air to be added or released. The pneumatic system enables the brace to gently inflate, conforming to the wrist and providing customizable compression. Thread, fasteners, and adhesive tools were used to secure layers and manage airflow paths. This approach demonstrates how soft fabrication and pneumatics can be combined to create wearable support systems that are lightweight, adjustable, and user controlled. The project highlights the potential of pneumatic textiles for applications in assistive wearables, medical supports, and experimental fashion, where adaptability and comfort are essential.

Design your own version of an inflatable

The attached sketch was developed in Adobe Illustrator as a set of modular vector forms intended for experimentation in soft robotics. The design includes a collection of simple, organic shapes—such as a tree-like form, star, elongated segmented structure, and diamond—each selected to explore how geometry influences inflation, bending, and movement when translated into soft robotic elements. The segmented vertical form is particularly suited for pneumatic testing, as its repeating sections can act as chambers that expand sequentially, enabling controlled bending or linear actuation. The tree-like shape allows for investigation into branching structures and differential inflation, where varying air pressure could create directional movement or stiffness gradients. Smaller shapes, such as the star and diamond, serve as test modules for seam behavior, stress points, and edge deformation during inflation. By creating these forms as clean vector paths, the sketch is optimized for multiple fabrication methods such as vinyl cutting. This digital preparation supports rapid iteration, allowing the same design to be resized, mirrored, or modified parametrically before fabrication. Overall, this sketch functions as a design-to-fabrication bridge, translating computational and graphic design tools into physical soft robotic components.

Results

The vector sketches created in Adobe Illustrator were used as the foundation for fabricating soft robotic components through the Cricut Maker. Designing the shapes as clean, closed vector paths allowed for a seamless transition from digital sketch to physical form, ensuring precision and repeatability during fabrication. The shapes—particularly the tree-like form—were selected to explore how geometry affects inflation behavior and structural response in soft robotics. The branching silhouette provides natural zones for air expansion and potential bending, making it suitable for pneumatic experimentation. Smaller shapes functioned as test modules to evaluate edge sealing, material stretch, and inflation consistency.

After exporting the Illustrator files as SVGs, the designs were imported into Cricut Design Space. Material settings were adjusted to accommodate flexible vinyl sheets, allowing the Cricut Maker’s fine-point blade to cleanly cut the materials. This method offered greater control than manual cutting and supported rapid iteration of form. Once cut, paired layers of the shapes were aligned and heat-sealed to create airtight chambers, with tubing inserted at the base to enable pneumatic inflation. The resulting forms demonstrate how consumer-grade digital cutting tools can be leveraged to fabricate functional soft robotic elements when paired with thoughtful material selection and geometric planning.