Zheng Chen氏による特別講演会を開催します(2025年12月19日)

Zheng Chen氏(Bill D. Cook associate professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of Houston)をお招きして特別講演会を開催します。学内者は聴講自由となっておりますので、ぜひご参加ください。参加登録はこちらからお願いします。

日時: 2025年12月19日(金) 13:00～14:30
場所: A-209 およびオンライン
講師: Dr. Zheng Chen
    Bill D. Cook associate professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at
    the University of Houston
演題: Soft Actuator Enabled Underwater Swimmers
講演概要:
Autonomous underwater robots are highly demanded in environmental monitoring, intelligent collection, and deepwater exploration. Recent years have witnessed significant effort in development of bio-inspired underwater robots to mimic aquatic animals, such as robotic fish, robotic jelly fish, and robotic manta ray, to achieve high energy propulsion efficiency and maneuvering capabilities. Novel actuating materials, which are lightweight, soft, and capable of generating large flapping motion under electrical stimuli, are highly desirable to build such bio-inspired underwater swimmers. Electroactive polymers (EAPs), called artificial muscles, are emerging soft smart materials that can generate large deformations under electrical stimuli. As an important category of ionic EAPs, Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMCs) can work under wet conditions with low actuation voltages, which shows their great potential as artificial muscles in bio-inspired underwater robots. Another important category of EAP, called dielectric elastomer can generate large force with high actuation voltage. With a certain waterproof design, DE also shows some promising applications in underwater robots. In this talk, a systems perspective is taken, from modeling, control, fabrication, and bio-inspired design, which addresses the most challenges in this research area. Three types of bio-inspired underwater robots using artificial muscles will be presented in this talk, including robotic fish, robotic manta ray, and robotic jellyfish. A bio-inspired swimming bladder enabled by reversible fuel cell for buoyancy control is also discussed. Advantages and challenges of using artificial muscles in bio-inspired robots will be concluded at the end.