Associate Professor of Soft Robotics, University of Leeds, UK
Soft Robotics at the Interface of Engineering, Mechanobiology and Healthcare
Host: S. Zacchigna
Abstract
Soft robotics offers new opportunities for developing technologies that can
interact with biological systems in ways that are difficult to achieve using
conventional rigid robotic devices. By exploiting the nonlinear mechanical
behaviour of soft and elastomeric materials, it is possible to create systems
that are compliant, adaptable and capable of generating complex motions
and mechanical environments using relatively simple actuation strategies.
In this seminar, I will discuss our work at the University of Leeds on
the development of soft robotic technologies for healthcare and
mechanobiology. I will introduce approaches to the design and fabrication
of soft sensors and actuators and show how these principles are being
translated into biomedical platforms. Particular emphasis will be placed on
soft robotic systems for controlling the mechanical environment of cells and
tissues, including our development of multiaxial and rhythmic cell-stretching
technologies for cardiovascular and craniofacial mechanobiology. I will also
discuss how the same underlying engineering principles can be translated
across scales and applications, from laboratory platforms for studying
cell mechanotransduction to wearable and implantable healthcare
technologies. The seminar will highlight the opportunities, challenges and
future directions for soft robotics at the interface between engineering and
the life sciences.
International Seminar Programme
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