Description:
Robotics and sustainability is a proposed four day course focused on sustainability, soft robotics and movement. The workshop will include lectures, guided ideation sessions and hands-on work. Knowledge of basic programming is required from participants to take part.
Robotics and sustainability will focus on making soft robots, or robots made from soft
materials. Soft robotics is an emerging transdisciplinary research field which entangles diverse domains such as: robotics, material science, control, bio-inspiration and biology (Chen et al., 2017) (Schmitt et al., 2018). Unlike traditional robots, soft robots can swim, crawl, change shape and size and might be more suited to work alongside humans, as the impact of their touch may present no harm to a human body. They may perform tasks unsuited for humans, where atmospheric pressures or radiation exceed the human coping capacities. Soft robots also present opportunities for automating manufacturing tasks that have been previously impossible for conventional robots, such as food handling or handling dangerous materials and also have potential for biomedical applications.
Additionally, due to their relative ease of production, soft robots are well suited for educational settings. However, making soft robots is inherently unsustainable to the point that Hartman et al. (Hartman et al. 2021) suggest that becoming sustainable is the next frontier for soft robotics.
In continuation of previous work, and recognizing the importance of introducing sustainability as a theme in robotics development and education, in this workshop we will investigate:
What qualities can we introduce in soft robotics to design the technology for sustainability?
How can soft robots contribute to sustainable practices across sectors?
To this end, groups will be introduced to the technology and will be challenged to design their own soft robots integrating sustainability in their design.
Lecture on the following topics will be offered:
- Sustainability and robotics
- Soft robotics
- Concept design
- Robotics, art and movement
- Digital fabrication for soft robotics
We will work with two basic principles of design for sustainability:
Designing an object to be sustainable by function: i.e. its intended performance should result in resolving a sustainability issue (e.g. environmental degradation, climate change, social inequality issues. The SDGs can be used as a compass).
Designing an object to be sustainable by structure: i.e. the materials and parts that constitute the body of the robot should be sustainable (e.g. ethically sourced, built for disassembly and re-processable, biodegradable, non-toxic, etc.)
Organizer: Associate Professor Elizabeth Jochum, jochum@hum.aau.dkLecturers: Elizabeth Jochum, Anca Horvath, Timothy Merritt, Markus Löchtefeld, Matthias Rehm, Karina Vissanova
ECTS: 3.0
Time: 12 - 15 December 2022, 09.00 am - 16.00 pm each day
Place:
Zip code:
City:
Number of seats: 15
Deadline: 21 November 2022
Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3.000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registrations.
- Teacher: Dimitris Chrysostomou
- Teacher: Anca-Simona Horvath
- Teacher: Elizabeth Jochum
- Teacher: Jonas Jørgensen
- Teacher: Markus Löchtefeld
- Teacher: Timothy Robert Merritt
- Teacher: Matthias Rehm