Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering

Information
4 Credits
Spring term, even years
Lecture only

Course Description

Complete introduction to the field of soft robotics, and a mastery of research directions and methodologies. Emphasis on fabrication, experimentation, and modeling.

Topics

• Rapid digital manufacturing of multifunctional soft robot devices
• Soft actuators (dielectrics, pneumatics, fluidics,)
• Soft sensors (fluidic, solid, composites, textiles)
• Soft logic (controllers, thin film silicon, semiconducting polymer)
• Soft energy (thermodynamics, soft batteries, soft combustion)
• Applications (wearable robotics, space robotics, deep-sea robotics)
• Modeling soft mechanics (numerical, computational, analytical)

Learning Outcomes

The student, upon completion of this course, will be able to:

1. Independently identify active unanswered questions in soft robotics.
2. Fabricate soft robot subsystems using 3D printing, laser machining, and elastomer casting.
3. Model soft robot mechanics in custom or commercial analytical and/or numerical tools.
4. Contribute meaningful and complete research results in the field of soft robotics
5. Complete rigorous experimental and/or theoretical validation of design/hypothesis.
6. Create a press-ready report for publication in a peer-reviewed journal or conference proceeding.
7. Create a conference-ready final presentation.