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Review Article | Open Access

Soft Science

Chen et al. Soft Sci. 2026, 6, 9 DOI:10.20517/ss.2025.102

Magnetic manipulation of liquid metals for soft
robotics

Gangsheng Chen , Biao Ma , Wenrong Yang , Yahua He 2,* , Hong Liu 1,*
1
1,*
2
Keywords:
Liquid metals, magnetic
manipulation, soft robotics
Citation: Chen, G.; Ma, B.;
Yang, W.; He, Y.; Liu, H.
Magnetic manipulation of
liquid metals for soft
robotics. Soft Sci. 2026, 6, 9.
https://dx.doi.org/10.20517
/ss.2025.102

Received: 10 Oct 2025
First Decision: 25 Nov
2025
Revised: 3 Dec 2025
Accepted: 11 Dec 2025
Published: 28 Jan 2026
Abstract
Academic Editors:
Zhigang Wu, Dongdong Jin Soft robots harness compliant materials and bio-inspired architectures to achieve safe,
Copy Editor: adaptive, and versatile functions in dynamic environments, enabling applications in
Ting-Ting Hu minimally invasive surgery, wearable assistive devices, and confined-space exploration.
Production Editor:
Ting-Ting Hu Gallium-based liquid metals with metallic conductivity and liquid deformability constitute a
transformative material platform for creating soft robots with enhanced performance and
diverse manipulation strategies. Among them, magnetic manipulation is particularly
attractive because it enables remote, non-contact, and energy-efficient control with high
spatial precision. In this review, we summarize existing strategies for the preparation,
integration, and patterning of magnetic liquid metals. We then illustrate the mechanisms of
magnetic manipulation, including magnet and Lorentz force manipulation, and discuss the
potential of multi-field manipulation. Furthermore, we systematically categorize the
practical applications of magnetically actuated liquid metals in soft robotics into four types:
droplet, slurry, particle, and composite, based on their composition and morphology.
Finally, we highlight the key challenges in this field and provide perspectives on future
research directions. This review aims to establish a systematic framework for

1 State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing
210096, Jiangsu, China.
2 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong 3216,
Australia.

* Correspondence to: Dr. Biao Ma, Prof. Hong Liu, State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biological Science and
Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, Jiangsu, China. E-mail: biaom@seu.edu.cn; liuh@seu.edu.cn; Dr. Yahua He,
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong 3216,
Australia. E-mail: yahua.he@deakin.edu.au

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