BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Fluid Mechanics of Soft Robots and Actuators - Amir Gat (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology) DTSTART:20170919T131000Z DTEND:20170919T133000Z UID:TALK80141@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:INI IT DESCRIPTION: Soft robotics is an emerging field of researc h and development. Its goal is to design robots with flexible structure that can deform and change their shape and dimensions continuously. The structure and actuation of soft robotics is greatly inspired by biology\ , where living creatures across a wide span of scales use soft appendage s or a flexible body for manipulation or locomotion - from elephant'\ ;s trunk and octopus'\; arm to jellyfish and caterpillar. While the m echanism of biological motion is based on muscle actuation\, artificial soft robots require some sort of flexible actuation. A promising approach of soft robotics is actuation by pressurization of embedded fluidic netw orks. While common\, currently\, the effects of viscosity are not examin ed in such configurations\, thus limiting the available deformation patt erns possible by such actuation.

The aim of the presen ted work is to analytically and experimentally examine steady and transi ent deformation of soft actuators by internal viscous flow. We specifica lly focus on interaction between elastic deflection of a slender beam an d viscous flow in a long serpentine channel\, embedded within the beam. The embedded network is positioned asymmetrically with regard to the neutr al plane\, and thus pressure within the channel creates a local moment d eforming the beam. We show that by setting appropriate time-varying inle t pressure signal\, viscosity enables to increase the possible deformati on patterns available to a given actuator geometry and limit the deforma tion to a section of the actuator. This work connects fluid dynamics to soft robotics research. LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR