ID DesignTalk mit Ingrid Graz

Design by nature - bio-inspired soft electronic and robotics

15. November 2022, 18.30 Uhr
Hauptplatz 6 / 5. Stock / Glashörsaal West

Nature is an amazing designer, and also a clever engineer. It utilizing a few basic soft materials arranged in hierarchical structures to create a plethora of plants and animals. Due to their softness, all of them are capable to interact with and conform to their environment. Stretchable electronics and soft robotics takes inspiration from natures ingenious design. By employing soft engineering materials in careful designs complete new functionalities become feasible: Stretchable electronic circuits can undergo large deformation but retain their electric functionalities mimick the sensing abilities of human skin - or - soft robotic elements are deformed by means of electrical charges, pressurized air, gas or liquids emulating movements of plants and animals. For both, material selection and device design, challenges such as mechanical properties missmatch and processability must be tackled while looking to rethink traditional design approaches to enable novel applications and functionalities.

Biography:

Ingrid Graz is an associate professor at the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) Linz in Austria working on stretchable electronics and soft robotics. After receiving a Ph.D. (2006) in physics at JKU researching flexible polymer sensors, Ingrid spent 3 years in the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK. There she developed stretchable transistors and sensors. In 2011 she returned to JKU as an assistant professor and completed her habilitation on skin-inspired electronics in 2015. She has authored and co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed papers and is head of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Soft Structures for Vibration Insulation and Impact Protection.