EAGER: Shared Materials Plotter for Organic Robotics

这项急切的提议加强了集成聚合物/活组织结构中的基础材料和设备研究，开辟了工程材料领域一个令人兴奋的新领域。在这一探索性项目中，从计划中的喷墨打印机升级到新一代材料绘图仪，将使有机结构、传感器、执行器和电子元件能够快速集成到许多规模的全功能设备中。机器人和网络物理系统的应用包括将有机电子学、神经元甚至肌肉组织集成到聚合物机械设备中的3D聚合物MEMS，可变焦距视觉系统和聚合物肌肉的新方法。广泛的影响：这种设备将在多个学术部门的项目中推动多种材料和设备研究的发现。这项研究将通过为PI实验室的三名女性博士生提供关键硬件来扩大参与范围，其中两个实验室由NSF GRFS资助。这些设备将通过一个新的用户服务设施广泛提供，加强多个学科的基础设施。

This EAGER proposal, augmenting basic materials and device research in integrated polymer/living tissue structures, opens an exciting new area in engineered materials. Upgrading from the planned inkjet printer to the new generation of materials plotters in this exploratory project will enable the rapid integration of organic structural, sensor, actuator and electronic components into fully functional devices at many scales. The applications for robotics and cyber-physical systems include 3D polymer MEMs with integrated organic electronics, neurons and even muscle tissue into polymer mechanical devices, variable-focus vision systems and new approaches to polymer muscles.Broader Impacts: This equipment will advance discoveries in multiple materials and device studies in projects across a number of academic departments. The research will broaden participation by providing the critical hardware for three female PhD students in the PI's labs, two of which are funded by NSF GRFs. The equipment will be made broadly available through a new user-service facility, enhancing infrastructure in multiple disciplines.