BSAC Technology Seminar: Adding a Sense of Touch to Soft Robot Grippers using Fluids


BSAC Technology Seminar Committee

Jonathan Candelaria
Dalene Schwartz Corey
September 24, 2024

Tuesday, 24 September 2024 at Noon | 490 Cory Hall

Watch the seminar recording here.

Photo of Professor Hannah Stuart

Professor Hannah Stuart

Mechanical Engineering | University of California, Berkeley
Host: Jon Candelaria


ABSTRACT

Robots tend to avoid contact due to physical uncertainty, yet contact is essential for many applications. We work to better understand and creatively harness touch to design more capable dexterous systems. In this talk, I'll focus on two recent case studies that use ambient fluids for the design of resilient and compliant grippers with tactile sensing. This includes both a smart suction cup and a sound-emitting skin. These sensing technologies, suitable for soft pneumatically-actuated systems, use flow in ways uncommon today. These inventions apply to logistics pick-and-place automation.

BIO 

Dr. Hannah Stuart is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. She received her BS in Mechanical Engineering at the George Washington University in 2011, and her MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University in 2013 and 2018, respectively. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanics of physical interaction in order to better design systems for dexterous manipulation. Applications range from remote robotics to assistive orthotics. Recent awards include the NSF CAREER grant, NASA Early Career Faculty grant, Hellman Fellows Fund grant, and Johnson & Johnson Women in STEM2D grant. She is a Senior Member of IEEE.

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