Hritwick Banerjee | EPFL Graph Search

I'm currently working as a Ph.D. student in the Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fiber Devices. My research interests span from the study of cancer cell deformations to the most recent advances in bio-assistive soft robotics, incorporating diverse fields such as mechanics of soft matter, deformable electronics and adaptive structures, bio-inspired design, smart materials, and flexible sensors. I am equally interested in the realm of sensors and architectures with the induction of hydrogel and polymer-based multifaceted material functions that conform to and create an intimate matching with soft and non-planar body surfaces thus offering intriguing opportunities in biology and medicine.

My long-term research interests lie at the intersection of Mechanics, Materials, Biology, and Medicine. Specifically, I am interested in understanding and design soft materials with unprecedented mechanical properties such as extremely tough and strong, ultra-sensitive to stimuli, programmable, biocompatible and bioactive to interface humans and machine and their intelligence. Also, my long arching research goal is to work in point-of-care (POC) diagnostics, low-cost medical device fabrication easily accessible to the common people from developing countries.

Highly Integrated Multi-Material Fibers for Soft Robotics

Hritwick Banerjee, Nicola Bartolomei, Chaoqun Dong, Stella Andréa Françoise Laperrousaz, Andreas Leber, Bastien Schyrr, Fabien Sorin

Soft robots are envisioned as the next generation of safe biomedical devices in minimally invasive procedures. Yet, the difficulty of processing soft materials currently limits the size, aspect-ratio, manufacturing throughput, as well as, the design complexity and hence capabilities of soft robots. Multi-material thermal drawing is introduced as a material and processing platform to create soft robotic fibers imparted with multiple actuations and sensing modalities. Several thermoplastic and elastomeric material options for the fibers are presented, which all exhibit the rheological processing attributes for thermal drawing but varying mechanical properties, resulting in adaptable actuation performance. Moreover, numerous different fiber designs with intricate internal architectures, outer diameters of 700 mu m, aspect ratios of 10(3), and a fabrication at a scale of 10s of meters of length are demonstrated. A modular tendon-driven mechanism enables 3-dimensional (3D) motion, and embedded optical guides, electrical wires, and microfluidic channels give rise to multifunctionality. The fibers can perceive and autonomously adapt to their environments, as well as, probe electrical properties, and deliver fluids and mechanical tools to spatially distributed targets.

WILEY2022

Highly Stretchable Flame-Retardant Skin for Soft Robotics with Hydrogel-Montmorillonite-Based Translucent Matrix

Hritwick Banerjee

Flame-retardant coatings are crucial for intelligent systems operating in high-temperature (300-800 degrees C) scenarios, which typically involve multi-joint discrete or continuous kinematic systems. These multi-segment motion generation systems call for conformable yet resilient skin for dexterous work, including firefighting, packaging inflammable substances, encapsulating energy storage devices, and preventing from burning. In fire scenes, a flame-retardant soft robot shall protect integrated electronic components safely and work for navigation and surveillance effectively. Here, we establish fire-resistant robotic mechanisms with montmorillonite (MMT)-biocompatible hydrogel skin, offering effective flame retardancy (similar to 78 degrees C surface temperature after 3 min in fire) and high post-fire stretchability (similar to 360% uniaxial tensile strain). Fatigue test results in the MMT-hydrogel polymer matrix to portray a change in post-fire energy consumption of similar to 21% (between the first cycle and the 200th cycle), further indicating robustness. MMT-hydrogel synthetic skin medium is then applied to everyday household items and electronics, offering appealing protections in fire scenes (

MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC2021