Actuation strategies and applications for high-output power soft robots

Recent breakthroughs in soft robotics have enabled transformative applications in manipulation, surgery, rehabilitation, and confined space exploration, driven by versatile smart materials that sense and respond to optical, thermal, electrical, and chemical stimuli. However, output power remains constrained by limited energy storage, delayed responses, and considerable dissipation. This review systematically examines the core design principles for agile locomotion, identifying three key strategies for high-output power through power amplification (PA): 1) increasing effective energy storage, 2) improving energy conversion efficiency by constraining losses, and 3) reducing energy release duration with latching mechanisms. By surveying representative examples across terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic environments, this work outlines key challenges and future directions to advance next-generation, high-output power soft robots. These insights lay a foundational framework to guide future innovations in soft robotics where enhanced actuation strength, speed, and functionality are essential.