News

Below are news stories related to softbotics research and the faculty members working in this area.

Softbotics news

Nov 6

Robotics

450-million-year-old organism finds new life in Softbotics

Researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering used fossil evidence to engineer a soft robotic replica of pleurocystitids, a marine organism that existed nearly 450 million years ago and is believed to be one of the first echinoderms capable of movement using a muscular stem.

New research from Burak Ozdoganlar, Carmel Majidi, and Kadri Burga Ozutemiz seeks to develop a scalable manufacturing method that combines the best of quality and quantity on a miniature scale, with the potential to reimagine how wearable medical devices are made.

Scalable manufacturing unlocks potential of soft electronics

Mar 9

Robotics

Engineering breakthrough in softbotics

Introducing the first soft material that can maintain a high enough electrical conductivity to support power hungry devices.

Watch the Video

Aug 30

Health & Biomedicine

Scaling up the production of liquid metal circuits

At Carnegie Mellon, mechanical engineering researchers have developed a new scalable and reproducible manufacturing technique that could accelerate the mainstream adoption and commercialization of soft and stretchable electronics.

Jul 8

Advanced Manufacturing

A cooler side to soft robotics

Researchers combined liquid crystal elastomers with a thermoelectric device to develop a stretchable transducer for soft robotics.

Sep 22

Health & Biomedicine

Resetting the standard in orthopedics

Exoform, a customizable, semi-rigid material with self-fusing edges has the potential to eliminate many of the doctors visits that go along with broken bones, not to mention help them heal faster.

Mar 11

Robotics

A touch of silver

Researchers in the Soft Machines Lab have developed a new silver-hydrogel composite for artificial skin that combines high electrical conductivity with soft, stretchable biocompatibility.

Research paper

A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon’s Soft Machines Lab has created a soft robot inspired by the quick and agile brittle star, the first mobile and untethered underwater crawling robot.

Under the sea

Jan 4

Artificial Intelligence

A universal port for the brain

The team is creating a smart port to the brain that will use artificial intelligence to selectively stimulate and record from the brain.

Dec 4

Robotics

Latch on, launch off

Researchers observe the fastest organisms in nature—Dracula ants, froghoppers, and spore-ejecting fungi—to investigate spring-powered latch mechanisms for robotics.

Research paper

Dec 1

Robotics

Making mechanical skin

These 3D printed circuits are self-healing, re-writable, and energy-harvesting, thanks to liquid metal.

Sep 21

Health & Biomedicine

Parylene photonics enable future optical biointerfaces

Maysam Chamanzar’s team has developed a new class of materials for optical biointerfaces.

The use of force-feedback joysticks in lab demonstrations could forever change engineering education, especially for students in underresourced environments or those affected by disaster.

Simulating engineering experiments at home or in the lab

Sep 14

Advanced Manufacturing

Imagine a 10-second COVID-19 antibody test—we’re on our way

Carnegie Mellon University researchers reveal fastest known COVID-19 antibody test with high sensitivity due to a unique, 3D printing technology and an electrochemical reaction.

Aug 19

Advanced Manufacturing

Microwaving new materials

Reeja Jayan has made a breakthrough in our understanding of how microwaves affect materials chemistry, laying the groundwork for tailor-made ceramic materials with new electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties.

May 22

Robotics

First real-time physics engine for soft robotics

Collaborators have adapted the sophisticated computer graphics technology used in blockbuster films and video games to simulate the movements of soft, limbed robots for the first time.

Research paper

Apr 16

News & Events

Pick your own project

Whether CMU engineering teams are given a week or a whole semester, their projects are always innovative and exciting.

Mar 27

COVID-19

Move to remote research invites innovation

While much of our lives can now function remotely, the transition to online poses unique challenges for academia—particularly for research universities like Carnegie Mellon.