Departmental Seminar - Materials Science and Engineering: Dr. Aslan Miriyev

Dr. Aslan Miriyev

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University in the NYC

Engineering nature-like adaptive and intelligent robots requires development of material systems that permit inherent actuation, sensing and computerized control. In my talk, I will present my novel compact soft material-actuator approach possessing actuation ability as inherent responsive property, aimed at replacing conventional rigid motors and the existing soft-actuation solutions based on pneumatic or hydraulic devices. Specifically, I will discuss the composition-structure-properties relationships in a 3D-printable silicone/ethanol composite material and its implementation as a soft artificial muscle. In addition, I will present my work on conductive elastomer composites, followed by successful fabrication of all-soft material-actuators incorporating soft conductive heaters. Automated single-step fabrication of silicone-matrix composites using a newly-developed proprietary Artificial Muscle 3D-printer will also be demonstrated. Finally, I will highlight the barriers that still need to be overcome before truly nature-like intelligent autonomous systems can be engineered, including development of self-sensing soft-hard material systems and control of their functionality and performance using artificial intelligence (AI). I see this engineering challenge as a natural next step in the development of smart multifunctional composite materials combining sensing and actuation capabilities for Soft Robotics.