Presentation
Soft robots are highly deformable bodies that can be actuated to perform astonishing tasks. These robots often are biomimetic: engineers use modern materials that can undergo large deformations with little to no permanent damage to reproduce some of nature’s tricks. However, to progress, we need a quantitative description of the underlying phenomena. Many such robots involve elongated parts that can actively change their shape and/or mechanical properties. These parts are referred to as active rods. The contraction of a muscle is a good example. The turgid growth of a plant is another. In this ambitious research project, we propose to derive an effective mathematical framework to describe active rods. These tools will then be used to model biological systems and to study particular soft robots such as those which are developed at ULB.
Promoters
- Thomas Lessinnes, Transfers, Interfaces & Processes Laboratory, ULB
- Alain Goriely, Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, University of Oxford