Electrocaloric cooling is a solid-state cooling technique based on the manipulation of electric fields. This technology utilizes the temperature variations induced in electrocaloric materials under the influence of an electric field to achieve refrigeration effects. Owing to its advantages, such as zero direct carbon emissions and high efficiency, it has garnered widespread attention, particularly in the context of global warming and carbon reduction objectives. Since the discovery of the giant electrocaloric effect in 2006, electrocaloric cooling technology has undergone rapid development, particularly in improvements in electrocaloric materials and devices. This article provides an analysis and discussion focused on electrocaloric cooling device research, electrocaloric polymer nanocomposite materials, and high-entropy optimization of electrocaloric materials. It commences by introducing the fundamental principles of the electrocaloric effect and current advancements in active regenerative electrocaloriccooling devices. Subsequently, it summarizes the progress in electrocaloric polymer nanocomposite materials, along with strategies for high-entropy optimization and interface polarization enhancement. Finally, it provides insights into future research directions for electrocaloric cooling within the fields of working substances and systems.

Electrically driven robots have gained widespread attention in the robotics field due to their fast response, high control precision, and flexibility. Compared to rigidly structured electrically driven robots, polymer-based electrically driven soft robots offer higher degrees of freedom, adaptability, and robustness, making them highly promising for applications such as aerospace. However, the electro-responsive smart driving materials used in polymer-based electrically driven soft robots still face challenges such as low energy efficiency, insufficient driving precision, and poor stability. In terms of device design, existing actuation methods face challenges such as simplicity, limited applicability across diverse scenarios, and insufficient ability to support multimodal motion in complex environments. This review first summarizes the driving mechanisms of different types of polymer-based electrically driven soft robots from a material perspective and reviews methods for improving their driving performance. From a device perspective, the review then outlines the movement characteristics of these robots in complex environments, including crawling, walking, jumping, climbing, underwater movement, and flight, as well as the integration of driving functions and multiphysical field coupling to expand the application scenarios of soft driving. Finally, the current limitations and future research trends are identified.