A5065454165- Soft Robotics and Applications
- Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Advanced Materials and Mechanics
- Smart Agriculture and AI
- Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Robot Manipulation and Learning
- Greenhouse Technology and Climate Control
- Micro and Nano Robotics
- Leaf Properties and Growth Measurement
- Robotic Locomotion and Control
- Structural Analysis and Optimization
- Remote Sensing in Agriculture
- Dielectric materials and actuators
- Conducting polymers and applications
- Plant Molecular Biology Research
- Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications
- Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions
- Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Robotics
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Planetary Science and Exploration
- Tribology and Wear Analysis
- Crop Yield and Soil Fertility
- Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices
- Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices
Agruicultural Research Institute
2025
Yale University
2018-2024
Iowa State University
2016-2021
University of New Haven
2020
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
2020
Boston University
2020
Robotic skins are planar substrates with embedded actuation and sensing that can wrap around soft objects to turn them into robots.
Rapidly tunable tensile stiffness enables localized shape adaptations in next-generation robotic materials.
Soft electronic systems require stretchable, printable conductors for applications in soft robotics, wearable technologies, and human–machine interfaces. Gallium-based room-temperature liquid metals (LMs) have emerged as promising candidates, recent metal-embedded elastomers (LMEEs) demonstrated favorable properties such stable conductivity during strain, cyclic durability, patternability. Here, we present an ethanol/polydimethylsiloxane/liquid metal (EtOH/PDMS/LM) double emulsion ink that...
Abstract As continuous wearable physiological monitoring systems become more ubiquitous in healthcare, there is an increasing need for power sources that can sustainably wireless sensors and electronics long durations. Wearable energy harvesting with thermoelectric generators (TEGs), which body heat converted to electrical energy, presents a promising way prolong operation address battery life concerns. In this work, high performance TEGs are introduced combine 3D printed elastomers liquid...
An ethanol-based Pickering emulsion that spontaneously forms conductive composites is used to sustainably manufacture compliant strain sensors.
The manual design of soft robots and their controllers is notoriously challenging, but it could be augmented-or, in some cases, entirely replaced-by automated tools. Machine learning algorithms can automatically propose, test, refine designs simulation, the most promising ones then manufactured reality (sim2real). However, currently not known how to guarantee that behavior generated simulation preserved when deployed reality. Although many previous studies have devised training protocols...
Abstract Numerous animals adapt their stiffness during natural motions to increase efficiency or environmental adaptability. For example, octopuses stiffen tentacles reaching, and several species adjust leg maintain stability when running across varied terrain. Inspired by nature, variable‐stiffness machines can switch between rigid soft states. However, existing systems are usually purpose‐built for a particular application lack universal Here, reconfigurable stiffness‐changing skins that...
To achieve real-world functionality, robots must have the ability to carry out decision-making computations. However, soft stretch and therefore need a solution other than rigid computers. Examples of embedding computing capacity into currently include appending printed circuit boards robot, integrating logic gates, exploiting material responses for material-embedded computation. Although promising, these approaches introduce limitations such as rigidity, tethers, or low gate density. The...
A robot's mechanical parts routinely wear out from normal functioning and can be lost to injury. For autonomous robots operating in isolated or hostile environments, repair a human operator is often not possible. Thus, much work has sought automate damage recovery robots. However, every case reported the literature date accepted damaged structure as fixed, focused on learning new ways control it. Here we show for first time robot that automatically recovers unexpected by deforming its...
Thermal interface materials (TIMs) play a critical role in enhancing the efficiency of next-generation packaging technologies within semiconductor industry.[1] The increasing heat density latest transistor node sizes, coupled with continuous increase die presents significant challenge for TIM1s. Modern TIM1s used must not only offer remarkably low thermal resistances (<5 mm^2·K/W), but also exhibit exceptional mechanical performance to accommodate warpage resulting from coefficient...
Combining droplets of liquid metal (LM) with nanomaterials often introduces synergistic thermal or electrical properties that are not found in the constituent materials alone. However, these existing systems, LM maintain a statistically uniform dispersion and capable self-assembly aggregation. These composites limited by their need for high volume fractions (>60 vol %) to achieve properties, introducing leaking as drawback management wearable electronic applications. In this work, we show...
In this paper, we describe a digitally-controlled, miniature, multi-mode pressure regulator for integration directly into centimeter-scale soft robots. This integrates best-of-class commercially-available pneumatic valves and sensors to achieve small lightweight servo-controlled regulator. We demonstrate that the is able track both step ramp commands quantify error in resulting pressure. order facilitate of many such regulators single robot, have implemented an addressable digital...
Shape versatility is a mechanism that many animals leverage to effectively interact-with and locomote-within the natural world. Toward goal of shape-changing artificial systems, we present morphing robots comprised robotic skins sculptable materials. Herein, describe skins—planar, skin-like substrates with embedded actuation—that are wrapped around materials in order actively shape those into different forms. Our approach inspired by art sculpture, where surface strains pressures applied...
Many soft robotic components require highly stretchable, electrically conductive materials for proper operation. Often these are used as sensors or heaters thermally responsive materials. However, there is a scarcity of stretchable that can withstand the high strains typically experienced by robots, while maintaining electrical properties necessary Joule heating (e.g., uniform conductivity). In this work, we present silicone composite containing both liquid and solid inclusions maintain...
Tensegrity robots comprising solid rods connected by tensile cables are of interest due to their flexible and robust nature, which potentially makes them suitable for uneven unpredictable environments where traditional often struggle. Much progress has been made toward attaining locomotion with tensegrity robots. However, measuring the shape a dynamic without use external hardware remains challenge. Here we show how robotic skins may be attached around exterior structure, both control...
Abstract Background Assessing the impact of environment on plant performance requires growing plants under controlled environmental conditions. Plant phenotypes are a product genotype × (G E), and Enviratron at Iowa State University is facility for testing conditions effects growth development. Crop (including maize) can be grown to maturity in Enviratron, different monitored 24 h per day, 7 days week throughout cycle. Results The an array custom-designed chambers that simulate coupled with...
Summary Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a group of plant steroid hormones involved in regulating growth, development, and stress responses. Many components the BR pathway have previously been identified characterized. However, phenotyping experiments typically performed low‐throughput manner, such as on Petri plates. Additionally, affects drought responses, but time consuming difficult to control. To mitigate these issues increase throughput, we developed Robotic Assay for Drought (RoAD) system...
Soft robot deformations are typically estimated using strain sensors to infer change from a nominal shape while taking robot‐specific mechanical model into account. This approach performs poorly during buckling and when material properties with time, is untenable for shape‐changing robots that don't have well‐defined resting (unactuated) shape. Herein, these limitations overcome stretchable sensing (S3) sheets fuse orientation measurements estimate 3D surface contours without making...
Robotic fabrics are planar, fabric-based systems with embedded sensing and actuation functionalities. They a useful, reconfigurable tool which can turn passive structures into active robots through surface-induced deformations. However, because of this flexibility, it is difficult to create empirical models for all possible configurations host body materials that may be used robotic fabrics. In paper, we focus on the widely-applicable case continuum joint formed by wrapping fabric around...