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.
Congratulations to Tong Lu and our collaborators Martin Weigel and Ju ̈rgen Steimle from the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Gilles Bailly (Telecom-ParisTech), and Antti Oulasvirta (Aalto) for winning the Best Paper Award at CHI 2015! The title of the paper is “iSkin: Flexible, Stretchable and Visually Customizable On-Body Touch Sensors for Mobile Computing” and … Continue reading »
We have developed a novel conductive elastomer that has 100-1000x the volumetric conductivity of carbon-filled elastomers with similar elastic modulus. In addition to having low mechanical hysteresis and being >2x stretchable, the composite exhibits several unique properties, including pressure-activated conductivity and invariance of absolute electrical resistance to stretch. This work was recently published in Advanced … Continue reading »
Together with Prof. Oliver O’Reilly and Xuance Zhou at UC Berkeley, we have applied an elastic rod theory to examine a novel mechanism for soft robot locomotion. As in inflatable and shape memory alloy-powered soft robots, the proposed mechanism exploits changes in the residual curvature of an elastic limb and the balance of adhesion- and … Continue reading »
Check out David Templeton’s article on Soft Robotics research at CMU. The article includes the story of how RI researchers Chris Atkeson and Sidd Sanan helped to inspire the concept for Baymax in the Disney movie Big Hero 6. The article appeared in the November 7, 2014 issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Continue reading »
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 »