The Soft Machines Lab combines tools and insights from microfabrication and solid mechanics to introduce new classes of elastically soft electronics, sensors, and actuators. These soft-matter technologies are made entirely out of elastomers, gels, and fluids and have the potential to function as building blocks for a new generation of wearable devices and robots.
We report our work in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. These include leading journals in solid mechanics, materials science, applied physics, robotics, and the interdisciplinary sciences. Contact Prof. Majidi for the electronic version of a manuscript.
News updates, videos, and links
Meet our group! SML is part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and has members with training in applied mechanics, soft lithography engineering, and soft robotics hardware design.
Thanks to Bridget Decker and the CMU College of Engineering for preparing this fantastic video highlighting our work on Soft Machines. Visit the CIT Youtube page to learn about other exciting research efforts at CMU. Continue reading »
SML is pleased to work with Dr. Mahmoud Tavakoli on a joint CMU-Portugal Exploratory Project for developing “Compliant Robotics Hands with Integrated Soft MEMS Skin.” Dr. Tavakoli is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Embedded Systems Lab at the Institute of Systems and Robotics – University of Coimbra (ISR-UC). Seed funding for this project comes … Continue reading »
Check out Katie Harmon Courage’s article in the NY Times on Soft Robotics. The article provides an excellent overview of the field along with details on the PoseiDrone octopus robot by Dr. Giorgio-Serchi and his colleagues at Scuolo Superiore Sant’Anna. It appeared in print on page D3 of the July 29, 2014 issue. Continue reading »
Together with Prof. Oliver O’Reilly and Xuance Zhou at UC Berkeley, we have developed a two degree-of-freedom model to examine the locomotion of soft robots on a rigid surface. Our dynamical analysis shows that locomotion featuring stick-slip friction is more efficient than a counterpart that only features slipping. This work was recently published in the … Continue reading »
SML joins the Experimental Biomechatronics Lab (PI: Steve Collins) on an evening visit to Kennywood! Opened in 1898 as a “trolley park” for the Monongahela Street Railway, Kennywood is a national treasure that continues to bring thrills (and occasional nausea) to CMU grad students and their faculty advisors Continue reading »
SML is grateful to Dr. Tom McKenna (Code 34: Biorobotics) and ONR for selecting us for the 2014 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP). This grant will provide vital infrastructure for the fabrication and testing of soft multifunctional materials. Continue reading »
Congratulations to Wanliang Shan and Arda Gozen for accepting tenure-track faculty positions starting in Fall 2014! Wanliang will be in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. Arda will be in Mechanical Engineering at Washington State University. We wish them all the best and look forward to continued collaborations. Continue reading »
Prof. Majidi’s proposal on “”Multi-Purpose Artificial Muscle and Sensor Array for Untethered Soft Robots” is among seven university-led programs selected by NASA as part of its 2014 Early Career Faculty program. Details and a list of awardees is presented here. SML is grateful for this opportunity to help advance early stage technologies that address high … Continue reading »
Congratulations to Arda and Arya for having their paper on “High-Density Soft-Matter Electronics with Micron-Scale Line Width” published in Advanced Materials [link]. This work introduces a new method to pattern liquid-phase Gallium-Indium alloy for stretchable microelectronics. Continue reading »
Congratulations to Lauren for being awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship! This program recognizes and supports “outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions.” Continue reading »
SML was recognized by CMU’s Environmental Health & Safety for “Outstanding Achievement in Lab Safety”. We’re grateful to EH&S for the recognition and for the bagel party that they threw for us! Continue reading »
Congratulations to Tong, Lauren, and James for having their paper on “Rapid Prototyping for Soft-Matter Electronics” accepted in Advanced Functional Materials. This work introduces new methods to produce soft and elastically stretchable electronics in minutes with rapid prototyping. Continue reading »