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Mar 3, 2022

New approach to flexible robotics and metamaterials design mimics nature, encourages sustainability

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI, sustainability

A new study challenges the conventional approach to designing soft robotics and a class of materials called metamaterials by utilizing the power of computer algorithms. Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Technical University of Denmark can now build multimaterial structures without dependence on human intuition or trial-and-error to produce highly efficient actuators and energy absorbers that mimic designs found in nature.

The study, led by Illinois civil and environmental engineering professor Shelly Zhang, uses optimization theory and an -based design process called . Also known as digital synthesis, the builds composite structures that can precisely achieve complex prescribed mechanical responses.

The study results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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