Canada's soft robotics research is moving from laboratory novelty to business tool

Canada’s soft robotics research is moving from lab novelty toward practical business applications, with the country emphasizing flexible, compliant and bio-inspired machines. The article describes a trend toward robots that can bend, stretch, adapt and sometimes operate in areas small enough for medical use, supported by Canadian institutions including the University of Toronto Robotics Institute. It cites the institute’s broad portfolio spanning surgical robots, assistive systems, micro- and nano-robots, stretchable electronics and smart materials, alongside related work at Waterloo, McGill and Queen’s. A highlighted milestone occurred in 2025 when University of Toronto researchers participated in RoboSoft 2025 in Lausanne, with two graduate student papers shortlisted from about 400 submissions. Topics included control methods for displacement-actuated continuum robots and pneumatic fingerpads that tune grip friction using air pressure. Commercially, the article links this to handling fragile or irregular items across sectors such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, electronics, agriculture and e-commerce fulfillment. In March 2026, Waterloo reported prototypes of wearable soft-robot technologies for people with lymphedema after cancer treatment.