PhD in Soft Robotics

Soft robots are a relatively new form of robotic system that has seen a significant increase in interest in recent years. Unlike a traditional robot, soft robots do not consist of hard, heavy, and rigid material and instead are formed from lightweight flexible materials. They have many potential advantages over traditional rigid systems with potential application in a broad range of sectors from manufacturing and maintenance through to healthcare. However, many of the soft robotic systems have been developed for the sake of scientific exploration rather than for a specific application and with a few exceptions have not been proven outside a laboratory.      

The presence of a rigid skeleton gives rigid robots advantages over soft robots, most notably in their ability to support much higher loads. Soft robots often deform or buckle when high loads are applied to them, in most cases the soft robots that have been demonstrated have tended to be physically small as just like in nature as their weight becomes higher, they require a skeleton to provide support.

The aim of this research is to explore the development of new novel robotic systems which are able to morph their anatomies to give them the abilities of both soft robots and more traditional rigid robots. This will provide the robot with the ability to change its morphology depending upon the task it is performing. The technology developed will have numerous applications including, robot manipulators, grippers, and exoskeletons and the application area can be tailored to the student’s particular area of interest.

Applicants should have a first-class degree in an engineering subject. An undergraduate or MSc in robotics or a closely related subject would be desirable but is not essential.

This PhD position is open to UK and international students who are self-funded.

For further details please contact Dr Steve Davis (s.davis.2@bham.ac.uk).