Electronics Design
systems. As soft-matter mechanisms increase in complexity, the challenges for functionality revert to basic questions of manufacturing, materials, and design – whereas such aspects are far more developed for traditional rigid-bodied systems.” For the uninitiated, Kramer is happy
to put into layman’s terms exactly what the ‘soft robotics’ sector is. “To me, soft robotics is the intersection between materials, manufacturing and robotics,” she begins. “In contrast to traditional robots, which are typically made of rigid metals, circuit boards and motors, my work aims to develop autonomous machines made of all soft materials.” When it comes to potential
By treating
clothing as a field of engineering, it can be transformed from passive
equipment to active machinery.
Professor Rebecca Kramer, Purdue University.
applications for soft robotic technologies, Kramer reels off a list that includes: search-and-rescue robots that are impact resistant and can deform to squeeze through cracks and crevices to aid in natural disasters; wearable technologies such as fabrics and skins that can give proprioceptive feedback to the wearer or assist with motions and prolong endurance without restricting the natural mechanics of motion; and human-machine interfaces that utilise compliance to embed safety at the material level. “The main concept that I explore
is the use of responsive systems that react automatically to changes in their
Product pathway B
ringing the next generation of wearable electronics to market – particularly to the industrial sector – is not an easy task.
Harry Zervos says: “The road to commercialisation for industrial products can be more challenging than for consumer products, as it typically requires more investment towards a specific application for a specific customer. However, the investment is justified if the product can provide an overall positive impact to profits.” He also acknowledges another – not insignificant – challenge to overcome when getting products to market. “Many people have identified excellent solutions to specific problems, but often fail to consider the entire practical and social implication of their products. Products that tick all of the technical and financial
boxes will still fail if the human side is not carefully considered throughout product development. We have spoken to many primary product designers who have recognised this problem, and are actively making sacrifices in performance and price to improve design, comfort, practicality and usability. These are qualities that it can be very difficult to put a number to, so the best products will result from a compromise between the engineers and designers.” l
Harry Zervos
www.engineerlive.com 17
environment (material intelligence), which will reduce the complexity of robots overall. As most of the materials my lab works with are new and not typically applied to these applications, we also focus on scalable manufacturing with responsive materials to make novel soft devices.” Kramer’s presentation highlighted
preliminary designs for engineered fabrics and skins that address wearable applications, providing both sensory feedback and imparting motion to the wearer. It’s logical then, to ask her where the human that will ultimately be using such technologies factors into her research. “The technology we’re developing is not at a readiness level to test with human subjects, but we envision wearables as a key application for our work. We are developing both robotic fabrics and robotic skins. Both of these ideas involve the integration of sensing and actuation within a planar, conformable substrate. “Wearable sensing would allow a
user to receive information about their own state. For the consumer sector, such information could be used to improve positioning for health or athletics and to develop gesture-based gaming platforms. Integrated actuation may be used for injury prevention or rehabilitation, enhanced strength or endurance, and soft exoskeletons/prosthetics.”
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