Samuel Tsai

1 Introduction Soft pneumatic actuators play a central role in soft robotics because they can generate large, muscle-like deformations using lightweight and inexpensive materials, interact safely with humans, and operate reliably in uncertain environments [1-5]. Among the earliest examples is the McKibben artificial muscle, used in the beginning of the 1960s to augment arm and finger movement in Polio patients [6, 7].

1 Introduction Animal locomotion relies on the biomaterial intelligence encoded in the muscles. Most natural muscles are arranged in groups and pairs to accomplish not only complex motions but also complex work cycles [1]. Locomotion relies on precisely timed alternating contractions of agonist and antagonist muscle groups, as has been demonstrated by in vivo measurements of neural activities in animals [2].