Beyond Soft Robotics: Pioneer Perspectives and Interdisciplinary Collaboration - ICRA 2020
Soft robotics is a strongly interdisciplinary branch of robotics where synergies from chemistry, material science, biology and mathematics merge to develop new robotics design principles. In the last decade, large research projects on soft robotics have been undertaken worldwide with unprecedented results in the form of new actuators and sensors, new mobile platforms, new kind of grippers, and novel modelling approaches. Soft robotics has reached a sufficient degree of maturity that it is now time to address the question of what will be the next steps in soft robotics and how interdisciplinary collaborations will contribute in shaping this evolution. In this workshop, two different types of talks will be designated to provide a frame for discussion on the future of soft robotics. One type is “Pioneers’ Perspective Talks” where established pioneers in soft robotics will provide their vision on the future soft robotics from various thematic perspectives. The second type, “Interdisciplinary Collaborative Talks”, will focus on examples of successful joint research projects to demonstrate the positive impact of cross-discipline and cross-cultural fertilization in soft robotics. The insightful vision and innovative collaboration examples presented in this workshop will shed light on the future directions of soft robotics.
Soft robotics is a strongly interdisciplinary branch of robotics where synergies from chemistry, material science, biology and mathematics merge to develop new robotics design principles. In the last decade, large research projects on soft robotics have...