A Soft Future: From Robots and Sensor Skin to Energy Harvesters
Sprache des Vortragstitels:
Englisch
Original Tagungtitel:
Physikalisches Kolloquium, Universität Duisburg Essen
Sprache des Tagungstitel:
Englisch
Original Kurzfassung:
Scientists are exploring elastic and soft forms of robots, electronic skin and energy
harvesters, dreaming to mimic nature and to enable novel applications in wide
fields, from consumer and mobile appliances to biomedical systems, sports and
healthcare. All conceivable classes of materials with a wide range of mechanical,
physical and chemical properties are employed, from liquids and gels to organic and
inorganic solids. Functionalities never seen before are achieved. In this talk I will
discuss soft robots which allow actuation with several degrees of freedom, and
highlight that different
actuation mechanisms lead to similar actuators, capable of complex and smooth
movements in 3d space. Latest research examples in sensor skin development are
introduced to discuss ultra?flexible electronic circuits, light emitting diodes and
solar cells as examples. Additional functionalities of sensor skin, such as visual
sensors inspired by animal eyes, camouflage, self?cleaning and healing and on?skin
energy storage and generation are briefly reviewed. Finally, I discuss a paradigm
change in energy harvesting, away from hard energy generators to soft ones based
on dielectric elastomers.
Such systems are shown to work with high energy of conversion, making them
potentially interesting for harvesting mechanical energy from human gait, winds
and ocean waves.