Abstract:

Recent advances in soft robotics motivate the need for new fabrication strategies that enable the heterogeneous, programmable assembly of soft matter with disparate mechanical, electrical, and/or chemical properties into functional architectures. I will introduce a free-form, multimaterial 3D printing technique for manufacturing soft robots that I developed for my Ph.D. research. In this approach, known as embedded 3D (EMB3D) printing, functional and fugitive inks are extruded through a nozzle that is translated omnidirectionally within a soft, viscoplastic matrix material that surrounds and supports the printed features (e.g. catalytic, sensing, and pneumatic networks). I will first describe how matrix material rheology, printing parameters, and print path selection influence overall print fidelity. Next, my recent work in EMB3D printing entirely soft, hardware-free robots will be highlighted. Finally, I will present our work in EMB3D printing soft somatosensitive actuators innervated with multiple conductive features for haptic, proprioceptive, and thermoceptive sensing in soft robotic end effectors. Our integrated design, materials, and manufacturing approach can be readily extended to other soft robotic systems that are entirely soft, require somatosensory feedback for improved control, or cannot be made with traditional manufacturing methods.

Bio:

Ryan Truby is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering working at the intersection of multifunctional soft materials, additive manufacturing, and soft robotics. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University in December 2017. As a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and recipient of a MRS Graduate Student Gold Award, Ryan conducted his dissertation research in Prof. Jennifer Lewis’ laboratory on 3D printing of novel soft robotic systems. These included sensorized soft robots with bioinspired sensory capabilities as well as autonomous systems like the Octobot he co-invented with collaborators from Harvard’s Microrobotics Lab. Before Harvard, Ryan attended The University of Texas at Austin, earning his Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Engineering with a Minor in Physics. His undergraduate research focused on developing a collection of optically and magnetically active nanoparticle contrast agents for selectively imaging cancer with several ultrasound-based, molecular imaging techniques. He also conducted research at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and Sandia National Labs’ Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Since beginning his Ph.D., Ryan has remained an active teacher. At Harvard, he served two semesters as a Teaching Fellow for BE 191 – Introduction to Biomaterials, an undergraduate course at Harvard SEAS that he helped develop with Prof. Lewis, and organized a daylong summer 3D printing workshop for middle school girls hosted by Harvard’s Materials Science and Engineering Research Center. He has also worked with the Innovation Institute in Newtonville, Massachusetts, to develop and teach both a weeklong 3D printing summer camp for middle school students and a semester-long seminar class for high school students on materials science and engineering called At the Frontiers of Materials Science – Designing Matter that Matters.