Christoph Keplinger: The artificial muscles that will power robots of the future
克里斯托弗·凯普林格: 驱动未来机器人的人工肌肉
Christoph Keplinger aims to fundamentally challenge current limitations of robotic hardware, combining soft matter physics and chemistry with advanced engineering technologies to create a new generation of lifelike robots. Full bio
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for disaster response
事实也是如此,
of the winning robot, HUBO.
优博(HUBO)的样子。
is a state-of-the-art robot
是目前最先进的机器人。
all that different
in the competition,
well, very robotic.
mechanical structures
一如既往坚硬的电动马达。
rigid electric motors.
with the brains of robots,
way faster than HUBO.
on monkey bars with ease,
human-like robot could do.
of soft and deformable materials
efficiency and by the soft materials
the key idea of a new field of research
一个新的研究领域重点,
我的研究小组
and collaborators around the world
inspired by muscle and skin
of the organisms found in nature.
by biological muscle.
听起来像《终结者》里施瓦辛格。
a bit like Arnie, the Terminator.
is a true masterpiece of evolution.
with sensory neurons
and the environment.
to power the high-speed wings
to move an elephant;
to be used in the extremely versatile arms
its entire body through tiny holes.
what muscles are for animals:
就如同肌肉之于动物:
才能动起来,与世界互动。
and interaction with the world.
as the real thing,
people have tried for many decades
capabilities of muscle,
publications on artificial muscle,
of dielectric bodies
Wilhelm Röntgen.
as the discoverer of the X-ray.
we used a pair of needles.
a transparent piece of rubber
onto a plastic frame.
is not a practical way
让我迷上了这个课题。
got me hooked on the topic.
新的方式来建造人工肌肉,
to build artificial muscles
for real-world applications.
我研究了许多都很有潜力的
on a number of different technologies
that are hard to overcome.
建立自己的实验室时,
the high speed and efficiency
of soft, fluidic actuators.
really old science in a new way.
filled with oil,
聚集上升到两个板之间,
up in between the two plates,
much better than I expected.
outstanding team of students,
哈塞尔(HASEL)人工肌肉。
called HASEL artificial muscles.
to pick up a raspberry
like real muscle.
faster than the real thing.
to deliver large forces.
a gallon filled with water.
self-sense their position.
for very precise movement,
very fluidic, muscle-like movement
如同真肌肉一般的行动,
to shoot up a ball into the air.
can be made invisible.
究竟是如何工作的呢?
easily available materials.
and fill them with olive oil.
as much as you can.
and place it on one side of the bag.
把它放在袋子的一边。
你会发现袋子开始收缩。
you see the bag contract.
is easy to control.
you get a small contraction.
we get a medium contraction.
you get a large contraction.
is to replace the force of your hand
“液体增强自愈式静电驱动器”。
self-healing electrostatic actuators."
皮亚诺·哈塞尔的驱动器,
called Peano-HASEL actuators,
such as our Ziploc bag,
有机聚合物,比如说保鲜袋,
such as olive oil,
on one side of the pouch.
that looks more like a muscle fiber,
starts acting on the liquid.
Peano-HASEL actuator
皮亚诺·哈塞尔驱动器
when voltage is applied.
take a more cylindrical shape,
such muscle fibers next to each other
肌肉组织联系在一起
even more like a muscle
同样会延展和收缩。
in cross section.
that's about 200 times heavier
called quadrant donut HASELs
发明:象限圈式哈塞尔
reaching superhuman speeds.
to jump off the ground.
to become the first technology
甚至可以超过生物肌肉,
of biological muscle
with large-scale manufacturing.
我们才刚刚开始研究。
We are just getting started.
drastically improve performance,
让它表现更好,
to reach a level of performance
传统硬性的电动马达。
traditional rigid electric motors.
of HASEL for bio-inspired robotics,
复杂的哈塞尔设计,
and elephant trunks,
soft continuum actuators
to the capabilities of the real thing.
about the practical applications
义肢开创一个新时代,
of more lifelike prosthetics
parts of their bodies.
一些哈塞尔样品,
driving a prosthetic finger.
our bodies with robotic parts.
某些部位运用机械设备。
more dependent on others
例如独自上厕所。
such as using the restroom alone,
变成了他人的负担。
they're becoming a burden.
to enhance and restore
maintain autonomy
叫做“延缓衰老的机器人”
"robotics for antiaging"
rigid counterparts,
家中工作时更加安全。
near people and help us at home.
We're just getting started.
领域,我们才刚刚开始。
from many different backgrounds
inspired by nature.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Christoph Keplinger - Roboticist, mechanical engineerChristoph Keplinger aims to fundamentally challenge current limitations of robotic hardware, combining soft matter physics and chemistry with advanced engineering technologies to create a new generation of lifelike robots.
Why you should listen
Robots today rely on rigid components and electric motors that use metal and magnets, making them heavy, unsafe near humans, expensive and ill-suited for unpredictable environments. Nature, in contrast, makes extensive use of soft materials such as muscles and skin and has produced organisms that drastically outperform robots in terms of agility, dexterity and adaptability. Christoph Keplinger aims to fundamentally challenge current limitations of robotic hardware, using an interdisciplinary approach that synergizes concepts from soft matter physics and chemistry with advanced engineering technologies to introduce intelligent materials systems for a new generation of life-like robots.
A major theme of Keplinger's research is the development of new classes of actuators -- a key component of all robotic systems -- that replicate the sweeping success of biological muscle, a masterpiece of evolution. He is the principal inventor of HASEL artificial muscles, a new class of high-performance muscle-mimetic actuators for use in next-generation robots that replicate the vast capabilities of biological systems. In 2018 he cofounded Artimus Robotics to commercialize the technology.
Originally from Austria, Keplinger studied physics at the Johannes Kepler University Linz before moving to the US to research mechanics and chemistry at Harvard. He is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and a fellow of the Materials Science and Engineering Program at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he leads a highly interdisciplinary research group that works on soft robotics, energy harvesting and functional polymers. His work has been published in Science Magazine, among others, and highlighted in popular outlets such as National Geographic. Keplinger he has received prestigious awards including a 2017 Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering.
Christoph Keplinger | Speaker | TED.com