About

Scope

There has been an increasing interest in the use of soft and deformable structures in the robotic systems. Soft and deformable structures are crucial in the systems that deal with uncertain and dynamic task-environments, e.g. grasping and manipulation of unknown objects, locomotion in rough terrains, and physical contacts with living cells and human bodies. Moreover the investigations on soft materials are also necessary for more visionary research topics such as self-repairing, growing, and self-replicating robots. Despite its importance and considerable demands, the field of Soft Robotics faces a number of fundamental scientific challenges: the studies of unconventional materials are still in their exploration phase, and it has not been fully clarified what materials are available and useful for robotic applications; tools and methods for fabrication and assembly are not established; we do not have broadly agreed methods of modeling and simulation of soft continuum bodies; it is not fully understood how to achieve sensing, actuation and control in soft bodied robots; and we are still exploring what are the good ways to test, evaluate, and communicate the soft robotics technologies. From this perspective, this technical committee will bring together the scientists and engineers who have different backgrounds and disciplines, and provide a set of opportunities to discuss these open issues.

Priority Areas

  • scientific problems related with soft-bodied robots
  • soft materials for robot
  • modeling and simulation techniques of soft bodies
  • fabrication and control of soft bodies
  • interdisciplinary interactions with biological/medical sciences, material sciences and chemistry
  • soft robotics application