# 16. Lobster Inspired Armor, Wireless EV Charging, Autonomous Solar Farm Setup

- Show: [The Next Byte Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast)
- Published: 2021-05-04
- Length: 21m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-05-04-16-lobster-inspired-armor-wireless-ev-charging-autonomous-solar-farm-setup
- Listen: https://the-next-byte-wevolver.simplecast.com/episodes/16-lobster-inspired-armor-wireless-ev-charging-autonomous-solar-farm-setup-zERJU4Fc

## Summary

Hosts Daniel and Forbode discuss three engineering breakthroughs: MIT's Professor Ming Guo's research into lobster underbelly membranes for flexible body armor, Cornell's Professor Karama Afridi's work on electric field-based wireless EV charging, and RE2 Robotics' autonomous solar farm installation system funded by the DOE. The conversation covers the material science of biomimicry, the physics of wireless power transfer, and the socio-economic implications of automating renewable energy infrastructure.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-05-04-16-lobster-inspired-armor-wireless-ev-charging-autonomous-solar-farm-setup#t=0) Introduction and Lobster Armor Research
- [1:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-05-04-16-lobster-inspired-armor-wireless-ev-charging-autonomous-solar-farm-setup#t=83) MIT's Lobster Membrane and Body Armor Applications
- [5:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-05-04-16-lobster-inspired-armor-wireless-ev-charging-autonomous-solar-farm-setup#t=343) Cornell's Electric Field Wireless EV Charging
- [13:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-05-04-16-lobster-inspired-armor-wireless-ev-charging-autonomous-solar-farm-setup#t=780) RE2 Robotics and Autonomous Solar Farm Setup
- [16:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-05-04-16-lobster-inspired-armor-wireless-ev-charging-autonomous-solar-farm-setup#t=984) Automation, Labor, and Solar Industry Impact

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- MIT (company)
- Cornell University (company)
- RE2 Robotics (company)
- Kevlar (product)
- Tesla (company)
- Wevolver (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Energy Harvesting and Sustainability in IoT | ARMOR's John Fiske](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2021-08-16-energy-harvesting-and-sustainability-in-iot-armors-john-fiske) (IoT For All Podcast)
- [Episode Twenty-Seven: Simon Wanstall](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-11-25-episode-twenty-seven-simon-wanstall) (Robot Talk)
- [EP015: Going Low Frequency, Robotic Machines, Disk Usage For Budgets, And Cellphones Versus Weather](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2019-04-19-ep015-going-low-frequency-robotic-machines-disk-usage-for-budgets-and-cellphones) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Event-Driven E-Skins Protect Both Robots and Humans](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2025-07-08-event-driven-e-skins-protect-both-robots-and-humans) (EE Times Current)
- [168: Put Your Gear on the Ping Pong Table](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-09-14-168-put-your-gear-on-the-ping-pong-table) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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