Sibley School Seminars: Dan Aukes- Designing More Affordable Dynamic Robots via soft, compliant, and foldable mechanisms

Description

Designing More Affordable Dynamic Robots via soft, compliant, and foldable mechanisms
Dan Aukes,  Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Arizona State University

Abstract:
While generalist robots continue to demonstrate a wide range of impressive feats, these systems are ultimately limited by the cost of development, which constrains their usefulness to highly structured environments and low-risk tasks. The long-term promise of robotics, by contrast, supports people by completing repetitive, dangerous, or dirty tasks that can risk the health and safety of humans. In order to realize this vision, the workflows used to develop robotic technology to solve such problems needs to better support affordable materials, accessible design methodologies, and fabrication approaches that scale.

This talk discusses the innovations required for such a transformation, and a number of research initiatives currently underway to solve them. The robots being developed in the IDEAlab at Arizona State University reveal novel approaches in design and prototyping that can drastically increase the speed of development; paired with scalable fabrication strategies and data-driven optimization, these robots also demonstrate how soft or flexible materials can both enhance the design workspace and simplify the complexity of systems by encoding “mechanical intelligence” into purpose-built, tuned, niche robots. We will also discuss recent efforts in describing and computing multi-material, graded, and multi-process fabrication workflows, and how together these innovations can benefit a wide range of industries, enhance the educational experience, and provide a more inclusive experience welcoming young engineers into STEM.

Bio:
Daniel M. Aukes is an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University, and is the Principal Investigator of the IDEAlab. His research investigates the nexus of design, manufacturing, and data-driven decision-making towards the development of robots that can operate in niche environments, with a focus on affordability and accessibility. He is a former Technology Development Fellow at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and completed post-doctoral research in the Harvard MicroRobotics Lab with Rob Wood, developing manufacturing planning software for origami-inspired robots. Dr. Aukes received his PhD and Masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, studying the design of underactuated robotics hands under Mark Cutkosky. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University. Dr. Aukes’s industry experiences have focused on manufacturing automation across a wide range of industries including automotive, pharmaceutical, and food-processing.

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