Soft Tactile Sensors for Next-Generation Robotics and Surgical Applications

Soft tactile sensors are revolutionizing the way robots and surgical tools interact with their environments. Unlike traditional rigid sensors, soft tactile sensors, built from elastomers, hydrogels, microfluidic channels, or bioinspired architectures, offer mechanical compliance, conformability, and high sensitivity to subtle forces. These characteristics are essential for applications where safety, dexterity, and adaptive feedback are critical, such as human-robot interaction, wearable devices, and minimally invasive surgery (MIS).This Research Topic aims to spotlight the latest advances in the development, integration, and application of soft tactile sensing technologies in both robotics and surgical systems. From biomimetic skin-like interfaces to embedded microfluidic force sensors and soft capacitive arrays, these innovations are enabling new levels of haptic perception and control. In surgical applications, soft tactile sensors are bridging the sensory gap caused by the loss of direct tissue contact, offering solutions for improved tissue characterization, safer manipulation, and training of surgical skills. In robotics, they are critical for achieving compliant grasping, adaptive locomotion, and safe interaction with unstructured environments or humans.We welcome interdisciplinary contributions that explore: • Design and fabrication techniques for soft tactile sensors, including stretchable electronics, liquid metal microchannels, and bioinspired structures • Novel materials and transduction mechanisms, such as piezoresistive, capacitive, optical, or triboelectric sensing • Signal processing, data fusion, and machine learning approaches for interpreting tactile data • Integration of soft sensors with robotic grippers, manipulators, prosthetics, or surgical instruments • Applications in soft robotics, human-machine interaction, MIS, endoscopy, or neuroprosthetics • Validation studies in benchtop, simulated, or in vivo environmentsThis Topic encourages original research articles, reviews, short communications, and perspective pieces from the fields of biomedical engineering, materials science, robotics, microfluidics, and human-centered AI. By fostering collaboration across these domains, this Research Topic aims to advance the science and engineering of soft tactile sensing and accelerate its translation into real-world applications. Topic editors: Wael Othman, James H. Chandler Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85244/soft-tactile-sensors-for-next-generation-robotics-and-surgical-applications