Bioinspired Soft Robotics: Materials and Applications

This lecture explores the design and manufacturing of soft materials for bioinspired robotics and bio-integrated electronics. Topics include spider silk networks, opportunities for soft materials technology, stretchable light-emitting displays, hyperelastic light-emitting capacitors, and soft actuators for soft machines. The presentation delves into bioinspiration, intelligent behaviors in living systems, and the development of soft devices that interface better with humans. It also covers the integration of soft crawling robots, electroluminescence from industry to soft robots, and stretchable, capacitive tactile sensing. The lecture showcases advancements in sustainable manufacturing, such as transient electronics, liquid crystal elastomers, and stretchable optical waveguide sensors.