Table 1.

Comparison of Representative Fabrication and Programming Methods for Magnetic Soft Materials and Robots.

Fabrication	Material Composition	Magnetization Programming	Shape	Magnetization	Scale	Resolution	Refs
Molding and casting	Hard-magnetic (NdFeB) microparticles uniformly dispersed in silicone elastomers	Template-assisted magnetization of composite while deformed into temporary shapes	2D	Continuous, 3D	5~100 mm	~0.5 mm	164–166
Extrusion-based 3D printing	Hard-magnetic (NdFeB) microparticles uniformly dispersed in silicone elastomers	In situ alignment of magnetized particles in printed fibers while depositing composite inks	3D	Discrete, 2D	10~100 mm	~100 μm	156
Light-based 3D printing	Hard-magnetic (NdFeB) microparticles chained and aligned in photocurable elastomers	In situ alignment of magnetized particles in printed areas while curing with patterned UV light	2D	Discrete, 3D	2~10 mm	~100 μm	178
Micro-molding and assembly	Hard-magnetic (NdFeB) microparticles uniformly dispersed in silicone elastomers	Assembly of microscale building blocks made of magnetized composite into 3D structures	3D	Discrete, 3D	0.5~5 mm	~50 μm	194
UV photolithography	Superparamagnetic (iron oxide) nanoparticles aligned in photocurable hydrogels	In situ chain formation and alignment of particles in while curing with patterned UV light	2D	Discrete, 3D	50~500 μm	~1.5 μm	67,200,201
Electron-beam lithography	Single-domain anisotropic nanomagnets (cobalt) aligned on thin, flexible silicon substrates	Patterning arrays of nanomagnets with different aspect ratios and selective magnetization	2D	Discrete, 2D	10~100 μm	~0.1 μm	80