3/6/2015
Professor Girish Krishnan is ISE’s newest recipient of an NSF CAREER Award. ISE now has nine CAREER Award recipients—40% of our faculty.
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Professor Girish Krishnan is ISE’s newest recipient of an NSF CAREER Award.
ISE now has nine CAREER Award recipients—40% of our faculty.
This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program grant will pioneer the research and development of soft mechanical systems. Soft mechanical systems do not contain stiff components like metals, plastics, motors, joints, or couplings. They are instead made up of stretchable skins, appendages, fibers, and fluids. They are inspired by around 90% of nature’s animal species that lack a rigid backbone, like an octopus arm. The unique feature of these systems is that they are flexible yet strong enough to bear large loads. Unfortunately, these systems are not widely used, because a design framework currently does not exist. This award supports research for a design framework. The resulting devices are adaptive, lightweight, energy-efficient and safe for human interaction. They will directly impact the emerging fields of rehabilitation robotics, manufacturing automation, space exploration, and surgery.
The key challenge in generating a design framework is combining the various components, namely, fluids, skins, and fibers. The design structure relies on combining model building blocks with different functions. The system will also incorporate optimization methods to refine the design. A successful framework will lead to systems for use in orthotic braces and a self-knotting active rope for use in surgical suturing and active tethering applications.
FOR FUTHER READING
"Nature Inspires Professor Girish Krishnan's Research in Soft Robotics," by Emily Scott