Soft Robotic Manipulators With Variable Stiffness Actuation

在这个项目中，学生的目标是探索软机器人中加强机构的材料转换。这是软机器人多学科领域的基础科学，结合了材料科学、控制和机器人等工程领域。为了弥合软机器人和传统刚性机器人之间的鸿沟，研究人员嵌入了僵硬机制。因此，这些柔软、刚性可控的机器人在控制上变得更加复杂，而且变得更大。本项目研究如何将驱动和加劲室相结合，并展开材料转移。应用领域包括用于医疗保健(例如，微创手术)或成长/自我修复软机器人的医疗设备。

In this project, the student aims at exploring material shifting for stiffening mechanisms in soft robotics. This is fundamental science in the multidisciplinary field of soft robotics (which are made of structures using silicone or fabric materials) and combines the engineering fields of material science, control, and robotics. To bridge the gab between soft and traditional rigid robotics, researchers have embedded stiffening mechanisms. Hence, theses soft, stiffness controllable robots have become more complex in their control and larger. This project investigates how to combine the actuation and stiffening chamber and deploy material shifting. The area of application include medical devices for healthcare (e.g., minimally invasive surgery) or growing/self-healing soft robotics.