简介：Smart materials have, for decades, provided simple and effective approaches for combining structure and actuation (or other functions). Shape memory alloys, for example, have been used for thermally triggering mechanical actuation in space systems since the early 1980’s. Since that time, materials have been designed for every available input signal, and for myriad output responses such as light transduced into shape change. Concurrently, the field of robotics has also seen great leaps over several decades, primarily from advances in computation and controls. Presently, there are many research groups endeavoring to merge smart, responsive materials with robotics for application to fields such as HRI, biomedical, agriculture, and space exploration. This talk will focus on work to use new actuators, sensors, and energy systems–from bioinspired design–to add new abilities or improvements to robots. Some of the multifunctional systems that will be discussed are autonomic transmission systems in powered prosthetics, synthetic afferent neural networks, distributed energy akin to cardiovascular systems, sweating actuators for thermal regulation, and haptic interfaces for VR simulations. In addition to the system demonstrations, the underlying manufacturing routes will be presented, where applicable, as key to the multifunctionality of these soft robots.

报告人简介：

Rob Shepherd is an associate professor at Cornell University in the Sibley School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. He received his B.S. (Material Science & Engineering), Ph.D. (Material Science & Engineering), and M.B.A. from the University of Illinois in Material Science & Engineering. At Cornell, he runs the Organic Robotics Lab (ORL: http://orl.mae.cornell.edu), which focuses on using methods of invention, including bioinspired design approaches, in combination with material science to improve machine function and autonomy. They rely on new and old synthetic approaches for soft material composites that create new design opportunities in the field of robotics. Their research spans three primary areas: bioinspired robotics, advanced manufacturing, and human-robot interactions. He has published many high-impact papers in Science, PNAS, Science Robotics, IJRR, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Nature Reviews Materials, Advanced Materials, etc. He is the recipient of an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, and his lab’s work has been featured in popular media outlets such as the BBC, Discovery Channel, and PBS’s NOVA documentary series.