Hardware Podcasts

495: Shortcut the Difficulties of Reality

Embedded.fm · 21 Feb 2025 · 1h 01m · Episode 495

What this episode covers

Professor Cindy Harnett of the University of Louisville discusses her lab's work on soft robotics and novel sensors, including the SESAME actuator which uses nitinol wire in spandex to create bistable 'Pringle' shapes, and the OptiGap sensor that uses cut optical fibers to detect bending. She explains how her team uses simple modeling and rapid prototyping with materials like TPU filament and silicone to shortcut complex fabrication challenges, while also touching on the evolution of MEMS fabrication and the future of low-power actuators like dielectric elastomers.

Most relevant to

established companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
University of Louisville
Products
OptiGap, HASEL actuators
Tools
MUMPs
Materials
Nitinol, TPU

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Robot Talk · 20m

    Episode Twenty-Seven: Simon Wanstall

    Simon Wanstall, a PhD student at the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics and R&D engineer at TouchLab, discusses his work on soft robotic prosthetics and bio-inspired design. He explains how current myoelectric arms are heavy and slow due to hard materials, and details his development of rapid-manufacture strain sensors using laser-etched graphene and silicone to improve sensory feedback. Wanstall also describes Wayne, a bio-inspired soft robot inspired by ragworms, and his industrial placement at TouchLab creating e-skin technologies like the Eidermis and triaxial shear sensors for hazardous environment robotics.

    Medical & health devicesSensors & measurement in products
    8 chapters

  • The Next Byte Podcast · 35m

    84. Printing Ice & Sensing Architected Materials

    Daniel Farbode and Daniel discuss two recent advances in additive manufacturing: Carnegie Mellon University’s method of 3D printing ice to create high-fidelity microfluidic channels for biomedical devices, and MIT’s development of sensing architected materials using embedded air pockets and pressure sensors. The hosts explain how CMU’s ice printing solves support structure issues in resin casting, while MIT’s approach enables soft robotics and wearables to track complex deformations through internal pressure changes. They highlight the potential for these technologies to revolutionize soft robotics, tissue engineering, and motion-capture wearables.

    Prototyping & iterationMaterials & manufacturing processes
    8 chapters

  • The Next Byte Podcast · 23m

    75. Size Matters: Tiny Biomimicry Leads to Big Breakthroughs

    Hosts Daniel and Forbode discuss biomimicry breakthroughs from the University of Washington and Harvard, focusing on dandelion-inspired sensors and microscale robotic cilia. The University of Washington team created 24-milligram solar-powered sensors using Microchip's A20 Tiny processor and Kapton parachutes to deploy environmental monitoring networks via drones. Meanwhile, Harvard researchers developed self-propelled cilia from photo-responsive liquid crystal elastomers, enabling complex, programmable motion for applications in drug delivery and physical encryption.

    Prototyping & iterationSensors & measurement in products
    8 chapters

  • Hackaday Podcast · 51m

    Ep085: Cable Robots Two-Ways, Cubic Raspberry Pi, Plastic Wrap Kayak, and Digging Inductors

    Hackaday editors Mike Szczys and Elliot Williams review a week of hardware hacks, including a tentacle robot by Ivo DeHas that uses Bowden cables for both actuation and sensing, and a cubic Raspberry Pi cyberdeck by EKG. They also discuss a project by HP Friedrichs that refines black sand to create homebrew inductor cores, and a plastic wrap kayak built by the SG 19.3 group. The episode concludes with a discussion on GitHub's removal of password authentication in favor of SSH keys and GPG keys.

    Robotics & autonomyMaterials & manufacturing processes
    9 chapters

  • Hackaday Podcast · 42m

    Ep 324: Ribbon Microphone From A Gumstick, Texture From a Virtual Log, and a Robot Arm From PVC

    Hosts Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos review a week of hardware hacks, including Leo Goldstein’s 6-DOF robot arm built with Toolbox Robotics parts and Clipper motion planning, and a DIY ribbon microphone constructed from an Airwaves gum wrapper foil. They discuss CNC Kitchen’s findings on 3D printing 'brick layer' perimeters for Z-axis strength, Panda Design’s virtual log modifier for wood-grain textures, and the rapid depletion of new old stock Blackberry keyboards driving a new open-source ecosystem.

    Prototyping & iterationMaterials & manufacturing processes
    11 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.