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About

Sanlin S. Robinson is a leading researcher in soft robotics and bioinspired materials, with key contributions to stretchable electronics and pneumatic actuation systems. Her most impactful work, "Highly stretchable electroluminescent skin for optical signaling and tactile sensing" (2016, 1,374 citations), draws inspiration from cephalopods like octopuses to create a skin that combines large-scale stretching with active light emission—enabling new possibilities for visual communication and tactile sensing in soft machines. Robinson also pioneered the use of poroelastic foams for soft robotics, as detailed in her 2015 paper (131 citations), which introduced a simple fabrication method for complex 3D pneumatic devices, including a fully soft functional fluid pump modeled after the human heart. Her work on micropatterning nonplanar surfaces (2018) further advances medical device applications by enabling surface property engineering on curved substrates. Robinson’s research bridges fundamental materials science and practical engineering, demonstrating how bioinspired design can yield scalable, functional soft robots. Her achievements highlight the potential of stretchable, foam-based systems to transform fields from wearable electronics to biomedical devices.