Background Physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) is increasingly used in applications where a human model needs to be developed to anticipate future actions including robot-assisted rehabilitation, robotic surgery, and collaborative manufacturing. Modeling humans is a challenging task because of the inherent uncertainties of human decision-making,...

Background With interest in soft robotics on the rise, there have been extensive studies on soft materials, actuation, control, sensing, and even soft pneumatic pumps and valves. Soft robotic systems have the advantages of being lightweight, highly compliant, articulate, and inherently safe for interactions with human body and environment. Soft continuum...