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Robot hands that imitate the shape of the human body have been actively studied, and various materials and mechanisms have been proposed to imitate the human body. Although the use of soft materials is advantageous in that it can imitate…
Macroscale robotic systems have demonstrated great capabilities of high speed, precise, and agile functions. However, the ability of soft robots to perform complex tasks, especially in centimeter and millimeter scale, remains limited due to…
Stimuli-responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) with a strong coupling of orientational molecular order and rubber-like elasticity, show a great potential as working elements in soft robotics, sensing, transport and propulsion systems.…
Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT)-based tactile sensors offer cost-effective and scalable solutions for robotic sensing, especially promising for soft robots. However a major issue of EIT-based tactile sensors when applied in highly…
Vertebrate animals benefit from a combination of rigidity for structural support and softness for adaptation. Similarly, integrating rigidity and softness can enhance the versatility of soft robotics. However, the challenges associated with…
3D printing mechanically flexible composite materials with high electrical conductivity is currently hindered by the need to use high loading of conductive filler, which severely limits flexibility. Here, microstructural patterning of…
Haptic feedback is the most significant sensory interface following visual cues. Developing thin, flexible surfaces that function as haptic interfaces is important for augmenting virtual reality, wearable devices, robotics and prostheses.…
We study the mechanics of a reversible decohesion (unzipping) of an elastic layer subjected to quasi-static end-point loading. At the micro level the system is simulated by an elastic chain of particles interacting with a rigid foundation…
Active structures have the ability to change their shape, properties, and functionality as a response to changing operational conditions, which makes them more versatile than their static counterparts. However, most active structures…
Constitutive modeling lies at the core of mechanics, allowing us to map strains onto stresses for a material in a given mechanical setting. Historically, researchers relied on phenomenological modeling where simple mathematical…
In modern robotic applications, tactile sensor arrays (i.e., artificial skins) are an emergent solution to determine the locations of contacts between a robot and an external agent. Localizing the point of contact is useful but determining…
Robust boundary states epitomize how deep physics can give rise to concrete experimental signatures with technological promise. Of late, much attention has focused on two distinct mechanisms for boundary robustness - topological protection,…
In the past decade, there has been significant advancement in designing wearable neural interfaces for controlling neurorobotic systems, particularly bionic limbs. These interfaces function by decoding signals captured non-invasively from…
There is a growing need for soft robotic platforms that perform gentle, precise handling of a wide variety of objects. Existing surface-based manipulation systems, however, lack the compliance and tactile feedback needed for delicate…
Conventional soft pneumatic actuators, typically based on hollow elastomeric chambers, often suffer from small structural support and require costly geometry-specific redesigns for multimodal functionality. Porous materials such as foam,…
This letter describes the manufacturing and experimental characterization of novel stretchable strain sensors for continuum robots. The overarching goal of this research is to provide a new solution for the shape sensing of these devices.…
Organic Electrochemical Transistors (OECTs) stand out for their interplay between ionic and electronic conduction, making them ideal analogues to biological synapses for neuromorphic computing and biosensing applications. Furthermore, they…
The implementation of simple, inexpensive, and mass-production-oriented solutions for smart electromagnetic environments (SEMEs) is dealt with by introducing the concept of "one-time programmable" electromagnetic skins (OTP-EMSs). The…
Electrowetting on dielectric is demonstrated with a thin spin-coated fluoropolymer over an aluminum electrode. Previous efforts to use thin spin-coated dielectric layers for electrowetting have shown limited success due to defects in the…
Soft actuators offer a safe, adaptable approach to tasks like gentle grasping and dexterous manipulation. Creating accurate models to control such systems however is challenging due to the complex physics of deformable materials. Accurate…