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SUMMARY:IEM Distinguished Lecturers Seminar: Embracing Complexity for Endu
 ring and Adaptive Robots
DTSTART:20230526T131500
DTEND:20230526T140000
DTSTAMP:20260510T084141Z
UID:ef1a318c3f97d14e5306a11cf9ea6007ec4a1cb1a38c865becff9d78
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Robert F Shepherd\nSibley School of Mechanical & Aerospa
 ce Engineering\, Cornell University\, USA\nThe seminar will take place in 
 the main auditorium in Neuchâtel Campus (MC A1 272) and will be simultan
 eously broadcasted in ELA 2.\n\nCoffee and cookies will be served at 13:0
 0 before the seminar\, in front of the two auditoriums. \n\nAbstract\nGen
 eral purpose robots are an important and far reaching technical challenge 
 that would be enabling for agriculture\, space missions\, disaster recover
 y\, personal medical care\, and many other uses. The proliferation of quad
 rotor and\, now\, quadrupedal robots are beginning to show the value of ge
 neral utility\, but still fail to achieve the mobility and manipulation de
 xterity\, as well as efficiency and operational lifetime of animals. Anima
 ls\, on the other hand\, are presently far too complicated to build. They 
 are semi-discretized systems of organs that perform multiple functions and
  are spatially discrete from each other\, yet interconnected mechanically\
 , chemically\, and electrically. To improve the abilities of our general p
 urpose robots\, we believe that a similar model of complex\, multifunction
 al\, and interconnected organ systems is needed. Of course\, it is not yet
  that simple to be complex\; however\, much of this complexity lies in str
 uctural hierarchy and interconnectivity. We will present synthetic approac
 hes towards this hierarchy and interconnectivity\, that results in distrib
 ute sensing\, actuation\, energy\, and communication in robots. Our approa
 ch favors the use advanced materials and manufacturing over computational 
 ones to achieve these goals. In this talk\,  I will focus on advances in 
 the use of aqueous redox flow batteries as hydraulic fluids for high energ
 y density underwater robots\, arrays of powerful microscale engines\, and 
 sensing techniques that can be used to control these systems. \n\nBio\nRo
 b Shepherd is an associate professor at Cornell University in the Sibley S
 chool of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. He received his B.S. (Materia
 l Science & Engineering)\, Ph.D. (Material Science & Engineering)\, and M.
 B.A. from the University of Illinois in Material Science & Engineering. At
  Cornell\, he runs the Organic Robotics Lab (ORL: http://orl.mae.cornell.e
 du)\, which focuses on using methods of invention\, including bioinspired 
 design approaches\, in combination with material science to improve machin
 e function and autonomy. We rely on new and old synthetic approaches for s
 oft material composites that create new design opportunities in the field 
 of robotics. Our research spans three primary areas: bioinspired robotics\
 , advanced manufacturing\, and human-robot interactions. He is the recipie
 nt of an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award\
 , an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award\, is a Senior Membe
 r of the National Academy of Inventors\, and his lab’s work has been fea
 tured in popular media outlets such as the BBC\, Discovery Channel\, and P
 BS’s NOVA documentary series. He is an advisor to the American Bionics P
 roject (americanbionics.org) which aims to make wheelchairs obsolete. He i
 s also the co-founder of the Organic Robotics Corporation\, which aims to 
 digitally record the tactile interactions of humans and machines with thei
 r environment.\n 
LOCATION:MC A1 272 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MC%20A1%20272 https://epfl.
 zoom.us/j/63596420243
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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