Soft pneumatic actuators have the advantages of inherent adaptability

flexibility and safety greatly

which makes them possess a wide range of application prospects in bionic motion

flexible grasping

etc. In this paper

the research status of soft pneumatic actuators is summarized from the structure design and driving principle

and their performance characteristics of different structures are discussed. Then the research on mechanics modeling and application of soft pneumatic actuators is introduced. Finally

the challenges in air supply

operating reliability

and mechanics modeling of soft pneumatic actuators are summarized. And the future research direction in this field is pointed out

which is expected to provide a reference for the future development of soft pneumatic actuators

and promote the practical application of soft robots.