MRO-W Reports 2008-2009

Our research is in the area of soft-material robotics. In contrast to rigid robotics, robots made of soft material should bend, wrinkle, twist, fold and stretch in a manner similar to that of living organisms such as the octopus. Robots with these capabilities hold great promise in a wide range of applications. Our research addresses the biggest challenge in soft robotics: controlling soft materials. Soft materials are difficult to control because of intrinsic non-linear behavior.


Our research is based on biological investigations of how soft-bodied animals, such as Manduca sexta caterpillars, control their locomotion through neuromechanics (tight coupling of neural and mechanical processes). Given a Manduca in silica model, our research focuses on developing a computational solution that elicits locomotion in the model. The solution consists of applying forces to different Manduca muscles at certain intervals. The solution represents firing of the central nervous system. We utilize genetic algorithms to generate our solutions.