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SUMMARY:Building Life-like Robots: From Musculoskeletal Designs to Biohybr
 id Innovations - Prof Robert Katzschmann\, ETH\, Zurich 
DTSTART:20241129T160000Z
DTEND:20241129T170000Z
UID:TALK219625@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:46601
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Nature’s musculoskeletal design can inspire both a
 rtificial and living robots to create systems that can better interact wit
 hin our unstructured world. There is value in rethinking how we design and
  control robots by replacing traditional designs centred around electromag
 netic motors and gearboxes with a bio-inspired approach that uses contract
 ive muscles\, ligaments\, tendons\, and skeletons. Taking it even a step f
 urther\, living robots represent the next frontier in engineering material
 s for robotic systems\, incorporating biological living cells and syntheti
 c materials into their design. These bio-hybrid robots are dynamic and int
 elligent\, potentially harnessing living matter’s capabilities\, such as
  growth\, regeneration\, morphing\, biodegradation\, and environmental ada
 ptation. Such attributes position bio-hybrid devices as a transformative f
 orce in robotics development\, promising enhanced dexterity\, adaptive beh
 aviours\, sustainable production\, robust performance\, and environmental 
 stewardship. In this talk\, we will explore recent advances in artificial 
 electrohydraulic musculoskeletal robots\, which employ electrohydraulic ac
 tuators to produce lifelike muscle contractions and adaptive motions\, as 
 demonstrated in our recent work published in Nature Communications. We wil
 l also dive deeper into our breakthroughs in vision-controlled inkjet prin
 ting for robotics from our Nature and xolographic biofabrication technique
 s\, which enabled our biohybrid swimmers presented at RoboSoft. Additional
 ly\, we will discuss the computational optimisation of musculoskeletal rob
 otic hands from our recent work presented at Humanoids. The talk will show
 case how musculoskeletal\, bio-hybrid\, and computational techniques open 
 new frontiers in robotics interaction and manipulation.\n\nBio: Robert Kat
 zschmann is an Assistant Professor of Robotics at ETH Zurich\, where he le
 ads the Soft Robotics Lab\, focusing on the design and fabrication of soft
 \, musculoskeletal\, and bio-hybrid robots that safely interact with human
 s and the environment. His work draws inspiration from biological systems\
 , using soft\, compliant materials to create lifelike\, adaptive robots. B
 efore joining ETH Zurich\, Robert served as the Chief Technology Officer a
 t Dexai Robotics\, where he led robotic automation projects for commercial
  kitchens\, and as a Senior Applied Scientist at Amazon Robotics. He recei
 ved his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 2018\, where his resea
 rch on soft robotics garnered media attention from outlets like The New Yo
 rk Times and BBC. He holds a Diplom-Ingenieur degree from the Karlsruhe In
 stitute of Technology\, Germany. Robert’s contributions to the robotics 
 community include serving as an editor for leading journals and conference
 s such as IJRR\, ICRA\, IROS\, RoboSoft\, and RSS. He is also a guest edit
 or for Science Advances and Advanced Intelligent Systems. His lab is affil
 iated with the Center for Robotics (RobotX)\, the ETH AI Center\, and the 
 ETH Max Planck Institute Center for Learning Systems\, promoting collabora
 tion in advancing robotics technologies.
LOCATION:JDB Seminar Room\, CUED
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