Kari Love

Emergent technologies increasingly leverage the advantage of soft and flexible materials. Integrated soft systems, particularly soft actuators, apply to health and assistive tech, human­object integration, space and deep sea exploration, and more. This course covers concepts from soft innovation history, current state­ofthe­art, sister disciplines of bio­inspired and hybrid (soft/hard) robotics paired with hands­on fabrication techniques (silicone casting in 3D printed molds, heat­sealed films, flexing Students start with a short exploration of historical context and current state­of­the art to prevent reinvention of the wheel. Additional domains will be introduced by pairing of high­level concepts to grow­on combined with achievable hands­on fabrication and evaluation techniques: Cable controlled force/Flex and bend cabled structures Pneumatics and inflatables/heat­sealed flat patterned prototypes Embodied complexity/silicone casting in 3D printed molds, Hybrid robotics/Mini Tensegrity structures, Materials suitability/Swatching and collaborative or destructive testing. Final projects can be a soft/flexible/hybrid design concept presented with context, materials swatches with justifications for choices, and physical or modeled proof­of­concept.