This is a hybrid event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and virtual attendance via Zoom. This week’s presenter will be in-person as well.
Robotics and manufacturing are intricately linked. Each new generation of robotic fabrication tools has transformed manufacturing, enabling greater complexity and customization of the world around us. With the recent developments in additive manufacturing new forms of mechanical metamaterials have become possible, changing how we make our robotic devices. In this talk we will explore how we can use robots to create novel materials and manufacturing methods, and how we can use novel materials and manufacturing methods to enhance the capabilities of robots? I will demonstrate a mathematical framework for making torque responsive materials, and how these materials form the basis for low-cost robotics. We will explore how 3D printing can enable use to rapidly repurpose robotic systems to solve pressing manufacturing needs, and finally how mobile robotics can enable us to make new forms of scalable manufacturing solutions.