Invited Talk Title: 3D Micro/Nanoprinting Integrated Fluidic Circuitry-Based Soft Robots
Abstract: Over the past decade, the field of “soft robotics” has established itself as uniquely suited for applications that would be difficult or impossible to realize using traditional, rigid-bodied robots. The reliance on compliant materials that are often actuated by fluidic (e.g., hydraulic and/or pneumatic) means presents a number of inherent benefits for soft robots, particularly in terms of safety for human-robot interactions and adaptability for manipulating complex or delicate objects. Unfortunately, progress has been impeded by broad challenges associated with controlling the underlying fluidics of such systems. In this workshop talk, Prof. Ryan D. Sochol will discuss how his Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing (BAM) Laboratory is furthering the capabilities of two alternative types of additive manufacturing (or colloquially, “three-dimensional (3D) printing”) technologies to address these critical barriers. Specifically, Prof. Sochol will describe his lab’s recent strategies for using the 3D nanoprinting approach, “Two-Photon Direct Laser Writing”, and the inkjet-based technique, “PolyJet 3D Printing”, to engineer soft robotic systems that comprise integrated fluidic circuitry.
Bio: Prof. Ryan D. Sochol is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. Prof. Sochol received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2006, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2009 and 2011, respectively, with Doctoral Minors in Bioengineering and Public Health. Prior to joining the faculty at UMD, Dr. Sochol served as: (i) an NIH Postdoctoral Trainee within the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham & Women’s Hospital, (ii) Director of the Micro Mechanical Methods for Biology (M3B) Laboratory Program within the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center at UC Berkeley, and (iii) a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Tokyo. Prof. Sochol received the NSF CAREER Award in 2020 and the Institute of Physics (IOP) Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering’s “Early Career Award” in 2021.
