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Page 6 of 24 Yu et al. Soft Sci. 2026, 6, 19

Figure 1. Design and characteristics of the MSGs. (A) Representative target objects for underwater grasping and their intrinsic
characteristics; (B) Overall design of the grippers and its modular configuration; (C) Actuation scheme of the MSG. MSGs: Magnetically
driven soft grippers.

experiments involving live animals were conducted with institutional animal care and use approval
(Approval No. 25-YS-092). Motivated by this gap, we developed a bioinspired, multi-finger MSG featuring
cilium-like microneedle surfaces, specifically targeted at underwater resource acquisition tasks.

In summary, the modular MSG design presented here-combining a biomimetic multi-finger structure,
magnetic actuation, and microneedle-enhanced contact surfaces-provides a foundational approach for rapid,
safe, and highly adaptive underwater grasping. Its non-contact operation, fast dynamic response, and
lightweight simplicity constitute the principal advantages over conventional solutions. To verify the practical
performance of this concept, the following section details the material fabrication protocol and presents
systematic material characterizations (mechanical, magnetic, and frictional) to quantify how key design
parameters (e.g., magnetic filler loading and microneedle geometry) affect gripper compliance, magnetic
responsiveness, and interfacial friction, thereby providing the basis for subsequent experimental validation.