Introduction to Soft Robotics

What it is about

You will learn the fundamentals, fabrication, modeling and control of soft robots (Soft Robotics). In the end you will be able to understand common soft actuators and sensors, understand simple soft manipulators and mobile soft robots, as well as create models (kinematics, dynamics) and apply control engineering approaches.

What you will be able to do

Understanding of essential concepts of soft robotics
Manufacture and evaluation of soft actuators
Manufacture and evaluation of soft sensors
Design and construction of multi-part soft manipulators
Fundamentals of mobile soft robots and their applications
Master forward and inverse kinematics of soft structures
Apply model-based control procedures
Learn fundamentals of the dynamics of soft robots

What the module consists of

LectureConveying the theoretical foundations for the tutorials
Tutorials / laboratory exercisesPractical implementation: construction, modeling and implementation of control approaches

Teaching method

LecturesConveying the necessary theory
Tutorials with lab assignmentsPractical testing and implementation of central contents such as modeling and control

What you should already know

C/C++ programming skillsrecommended
Matrix transformationrecommended

Assessment

Laboratory workPresentationOral examination

The final grade comprises individual laboratory and exercise tasks (40%), a presentation (20%) and an oral final examination (40%). The oral examination lasts 20 minutes per student. In the laboratory and exercise tasks you will be assessed on whether you can build soft robots as well as implement and test modeling and control approaches. In the presentation (10 minutes individual talk) you should concisely present a peer-reviewed work selected by the instructor. Information on permitted aids is not specified.

Reading list

Rus, D.; Tolley, M. - Design, fabrication and control of soft robots. Nature 521, 467–475 (2015).
Huang, W.; Huang, X.; Majidi, C. et al. - Dynamic simulation of articulated soft robots. Nat Commun 11, 2233 (2020).

Dates

Lecture with exerciseIntroduction to Soft Robotics2 groups to choose from

ATue11:30–13:00
2026, Karlstraße-Seminarraum (2906.02.026)
15× · 13.10.–02.02.
- 13.10.
- 20.10.
- 27.10.
- 03.11.
- 10.11.
- 17.11.
- 24.11.
- 01.12.
- 08.12.
- 15.12.
- 22.12.
- 12.01.
- 19.01.
- 26.01.
- 02.02.
BThu11:30–13:00
2026, Karlstraße-Seminarraum (2906.02.026)
14× · 15.10.–04.02.
- 15.10.
- 22.10.
- 29.10.
- 05.11.
- 12.11.
- 19.11.
- 26.11.
- 10.12.
- 17.12.
- 07.01.
- 14.01.
- 21.01.
- 28.01.
- 04.02.

From the current semester, not binding. You attend one of several groups; the timetable automatically suggests the one with the fewest clashes.

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