Soft Robotics: Ideas to Industry

Speaker: Prof. Raye Yeow , National University of Singapore (NUS)

Date: Monday, October 23, 2023

Time: 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Note: all times are in the Eastern Time Zone

Public: Yes

Location: Room 32-G449 (Patil/Kiva)

Event Type: Seminar

Room Description:

Host: Daniela Rus, CSAIL MIT

Contact: Mieke Moran, 617-253-5817, mieke@csail.mit.edu

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Reminders to: seminars@csail.mit.edu

Reminder Subject: TALK: Soft Robotics: Ideas to Industry

Abstract: Soft robotics is a rapidly growing field that is revolutionizing the way we think about robots. From the early days of Ecoflex actuators, soft robotics has now exploded into an extensive spectrum of topics including advanced materials, wearable robots, xenobots, sustainability and learning-based control. Compared to traditional robots, soft robots are made of soft compliant materials with infinite degrees of freedom, which allow them to interact with living things and delicate objects in a more natural and safer manner. In this talk, I will share about the variety of interesting ideas that were developed in my group, from fabrication techniques, material development, actuator/sensor mechanisms, to modular, reconfigurable and bio-inspired systems. I will also discuss about the technology readiness levels and commercialization potential of some of these ideas, and how we evolve them from research lab prototypes to now fully functional industry-grade systems with compelling applications across different industry sectors.

Bio: Raye Yeow received his PhD in Bioengineering (NUS) in 2010, and his post-doctoral training in BioRobotics (Harvard University) from 2010-12. He is an Associate Professor and Deputy Head (Outreach & Industry) with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Robotics Center, NUS, and presently a Visiting Professor at CSAIL, MIT. He is the Program Lead for Soft and Hybrid Robotics under the National Robotics Programme Office (Singapore), and Vice-President for the Biomedical Engineering Society (Singapore). He served as the General Chair for the 6th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics in 2023. With the theme ‘Soft Robotics for Sustainable Development’, the conference comprised a series of plenary, podium and poster sessions with a sustainability forum, women in soft robotics panel, soft robotics industry panel, as well as robotics competition and expo. The conference has, for the 1st time, attracted >430 attendees, signifying a growing global soft robotics community. His research group specializes in soft robotics, with focus on fundamental mechanisms and building market-ready systems. He has published >200 journal and conferences papers, with >70 local/international media reports and >40 research-innovation awards on his soft robotics work, e.g. Young Scientist @ World Laureates Forum 2020, Technology Innovation, Applied Research and Young Creator Awards @ IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Awards 2017-18, and MIT TR35 Asia 2016. He co-founded 4 soft robotics startups (Roceso, RO+, ArmasTec and Seamless XR) that are translating his technologies into the healthcare, food assembly, logistics and entertainment sectors.

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Created by Mieke Moran at Monday, October 16, 2023 at 9:54 AM.