Past Debates
IEEE RAS TC on Soft Robotics Debate on "Bridging the Gap Between Soft Robots and Soft Materials: Discovering New Material Functionalities vs. Creating Architected Compliance”
15 October 2020
Debate Panel: Dr. Jeffrey I. Lipton, Dr. Shingo Maeda, Prof. Jonathan Rossiter, Prof. Robert Shepherd, Dr. Hannah Stuart, Dr. Ryan L. Truby, Prof. Bram Vanderborght
Moderator: Dr. Gina Olson
We always wanted to bring these ideas and arguments to the forefront of the Soft Robotics community, and highlight many perspectives. That's why we started the soft robotics debate with the help of IEEE RAS and Soft Robotics TC.
In this debate, we will bring together experts in the fields of soft materials and soft robotics to discuss the necessary steps to bring more collaboration between these two fields. In this debate, panelists were trying to answer whether material development should focus on developing new functionalities for soft robots or on creating optimized materials to meet existing needs, allowing for easier rapid prototyping and technology transferability.
IEEE RAS TC on Soft Robotics Debate on “Morphological Contribution vs. Traditional Methods for Control and Planning in Soft Robotics”
13 July 2020
Debate Panel: Cosimo Della Santina- Con, Manolo Garabini- Con, Helmut Hauser- Pro, Barbara Mazzolai- Grey, Thrishantha Nanayakkara- Pro
Laura Blumenschein - Moderator