BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Memento EPFL// BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:MechE Colloquium: Exploiting mechanofluidic instabilities to enabl e soft autonomous machines DTSTART:20250429T120000 DTEND:20250429T130000 DTSTAMP:20260526T095036Z UID:db1836a71e45141d322ecbe8614417d2501f4f52d605a5e086c9c0d1 CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars DESCRIPTION:Prof. Bas Overvelde\, Department of Mechanical Engineering\, Eindhoven University of Technology\, and Soft Robotic Matter\, AMOLF\nAb stract: During the past decade\, using soft materials to build machines a nd robots has gained significant traction in the scientific domain. These soft devices target applications where human interaction\, unstructured en vironments\, and robust behavior are key. Despite these exciting developme nts\, most of the current electronic control\, intelligence\, and power sy stems of soft robots are too bulky for embedded use and therefore limit th eir applicability. To enable bio-inspired forms of autonomy\, we are in th e process of developing soft machines embedded with smart fluidic (pneumat ic) circuits that harness nonlinear mechanical and dynamical behavior to r eplace electronics and software. When such machines are designed properly\ , autonomy can emerge as a result of them interacting and responding to th eir environment. One of our recent studies involves an elastic valve with a slit that exhibits mechanical hysteretic behavior. We have demonstrated the ability to utilize this valve to convert a continuous flow into a puls atile flow\, a crucial requirement for enabling self-oscillating and progr ammable locomotion. We are currently in the process of exploiting such mec hanofluidic instabilities to activate a soft robotic heart that we are dev eloping within the Holland Hybrid Heart consortium. Similarly\, alternativ e fluidic circuits feature nonlinear mechanical components such as kinking tubes\, which exhibit instabilities that can be harnessed to enhance actu ation frequencies and movement speed. From a behavioral point of view\, th ese soft components change their behavior considerably in response to inte ractions with their environment\, resulting in useful self-sensing behavio r that can be utilized for dynamic synchronization\, reprogrammable gaits\ , and potentially for autonomy.\n\n\nBiography: In 2016\, Johannes T.B. ( Bas) Overvelde became a tenure-track Group Leader @AMOLF\, an academic ins titute for the physics of functional and complex matter in Amsterdam\, whe re he started the Soft Robotic Matter Group. Overvelde received tenure in 2021. In 2020\, Overvelde was appointed Associate Professor at Eindhoven U niversity of Technology (TU/e). As part of the Dynamics and Control Depart ment\, Overvelde works part-time at the Institute for Complex Molecular Sy stems.\nBetween 2004 and 2012\, Overvelde studied applied physics and mech anical engineering at the Delft University of Technology\, where he receiv ed both his BSc and MSc degrees in mechanical engineering cum laude. In Ap ril 2016\, Overvelde finished his PhD in applied mathematics at Harvard Un iversity under the direction of professor Katia Bertoldi at the John A. Pa ulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Overvelde’s PhD resear ch focussed on harnessing compliance and instabilities in engineered struc tural materials and devices to achieve function.\nThe Soft Robotic Matter Group (www.overvelde.com) focuses on research at the crossroads of soft ro botics and mechanical metamaterials. Combining expeirmental and computatio nal tools\, the group explores how shape\, nonlinearities and feedback can be harnessed to embody “intelligent” behavior in mechanical systems. In particular\, the group works on the design\, fabrication and fundamenta l understanding of robotic materials that are capable of autonomously adap ting to – and even harnessing – variations in their environment. the g roup aims to uncover principles that help us understand how such nonlinear ities and feedback can bring about complex – but useful – behavior\, a ll while remaining dedicated to addressing real-world challenges that have a meaningful impact on society. LOCATION:MED 0 1418 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MED%200%201418 https://epf l.zoom.us/j/64267570786 STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR