## 3 Advances in Control Strategies
### Bio-Inspired and Soft Robotics Control  
Bio-inspired and soft-robotics paradigms are gaining industrial traction, supported by a surge of 2024-2025 studies across IEEE, Scopus-Elsevier, ACM/SIAM, PubMed, and preprint repositories (see Appendix A, Table A3). Recent tactile-hand breakthroughs show that shear-based fingertip feedback enables under-actuated hands to outperform fully actuated designs by ~18% in grasp success ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)). Hybrid pinch-suction multimodal grippers combine soft-rigid mechanics to raise object-set diversity by ~25% with negligible cycle-time loss ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)). A review of dexterous hand technologies for intelligent manufacturing ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)) highlights ~20% manipulation-precision improvement in high-adaptability tasks (e.g., electronics assembly), while [PERSON] et al. (2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)) emphasize anthropomorphic five-fingered hands that improve operator-robot interaction by ~15% in collaborative settings. Soft-actuated continuum and compliant devices are maturing. A three-loop digital twin + MPC controller trimmed overshoot by 18% and energy use by 15% on a 4-degrees of freedom (DoF) arm ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)). Neural-learning impedance control for viscoelastic micro-injection cut cell-damage forces by 22% ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)). Topology-shape-size optimization delivers printable compliant grippers with ~30% weight savings and sub-millimeter repeatability ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)), and smart-stiffness fingers extend the grasp span by ~40% via embedded field-responsive media ([PERSON], 2025 ([PERSON], 2025)). Swarm and multi-robot bio-inspired intelligence are moving from simulation to shop-floor pilots. Deep-RL role-selection policies cut the search time by 28% in collaborative area exploration ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)); social-learning coordination restored throughput to within 5% of nominal after single-robot failures in smart-factory cells ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)). Load-sharing schemes balanced joint torques within \(\pm\)3% despite payload drift ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)); central-pattern-generator networks integrated with DRL achieved 95% fall-recovery success on quadrupeds ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)). Materials science is likewise embracing biomimicry for harsh factory conditions. Multifunctional anti-fog coatings inspired by lotus-leaf nanostructures demonstrated 10\(\times\) lifetime in acidic mists and are being AI-optimized for low-energy regeneration ([PERSON] et al., 2026 ([PERSON] et al., 2026)--post-search horizon scan; cited narratively). Comprehensive soft-robotics reviews ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025; [PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)) document a 3-fold rise in actuator-material combinations and forecast ISO-standard test protocols by 2027--critical for cross-vendor interchangeability. Despite rapid progress, industrial uptake faces four persistent gaps: (i) elastomer-fiber durability beyond 10\({}^{6}\) cycles; (ii) model uncertainty that inflates safety margins by ~20% in certified workcells ([PERSON] et al., 2025); (iii) integration cost (~1.4\(\times\) rigid alternatives); and (iv) standards latency--only 2/12 ISO/TC 299 working groups actively address soft-robot metrics. Addressing these gaps will require cross-pollination of the robust control theory ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025)), digital-twin life-cycle testing ([PERSON] et al., 2025 ([PERSON] et al., 2025; [PERSON] et al., 2024)), and adaptive learning pipelines capable of online anomaly rejection.