Biohybrid soft robots, E-skin, and bioimpedance potential to build up their applications: A review

Soft Robotics is a new approach towards better human-robot interaction and biomimicry in the robotics field. Its integration with biological materials (Biohybrid soft robotics) is one of the topics being focused on in the soft robotics research in the last fifteen years. The motive for this approach is to combine the best of biological and artificial systems. In this article, Biohybrid soft robots and Electronic Skin (E-skin), which is considered one of the advances of soft robotics, are reviewed. Their most significant milestones and the highlights of their most researched applications are listed. Bioimpedance, which is the impedance of biological tissue to an applied AC signal, has been used recently in many agriculture and medical applications for its non-destructive nature. It has been used in many bio-related applications for its ability to assess the state of living tissues. However, it has not been applied in biohybrid soft robots yet. Bioimpedance equivalent electrical models are surveyed showing both integer and fractional order based models. Finally, its potential to enhance biohybrid soft robotics and e-skin applications is discussed and validated. © 2020 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. All rights reserved.