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Northwestern University

Materials for New Robot Capabilities

About

We design materials for new robotic actuation, perception, power, and control capabilities. Our research efforts include work in the design of architected materials for electrically-driven soft actuators, liquid crystal elastomer artificial muscles, and 4D printed shape-changing materials. We have also developed new types of sensing strategies for soft robots and robotic materials, including ionogel-based strategies for bioinspired proprioception and tactile feedback.

We are actively synthesizing new polymeric composites for use in robotic materials.

 Biomanufacturing of organ-specific tissues with high cellular density and embedded vascular channels, Northwestern University

 

People 

Ryan Truby
EunBi Oh
Alexander Kane
Alex Evenchik
Pranav Kaarthik
Simona Fine
Anjali Shah
Francesco Sanchez

 

Related Publications

R. L. Truby, L. Chin, and D. Rus, A Recipe for Electrically-Driven Soft Robots via 3D Printed Handed Shearing Auxetics, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, pp. 795-802, June / 2021 Google Scholar

J. W. Boley, W. M. van Rees, R. L. Truby, C. Lissandrello, J. A. Kotikian, J. A. Lewis, M. N. Horenstein, and L. Mahadevan, Shape-Shifting Lattices via Multi-Material 4D Printing, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pp. 116, October/ 2019

R. L. Truby, M. Wehner, D. M. Grosskopf, D. M. Vogt, S. G. M. Uzel, R. J. Wood, and J. A. Lewis, Soft Somatosensitive Actuators via Embedded 3D Printing, Advanced Materials, February/ 2018 Google Scholar

A. Kotikian, R. L. Truby, J. W. Boley, T. J. White, and J. A. Lewis, 3D Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators with Spatially Programmed Nematic Order, Advanced Materials, no. 10, March/ 2018

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