Small Machines, Big Moves!

Nature contains a wealth of biological molecules that display controlled motion of their submolecular parts. Scientists have long sought to mimic such controlled molecular-level motion, and the potential applications of nanoscale machines is vast. This talk will introduce the concept of artificial molecular machines and present some of the ongoing research being carried out in the Collins research group at the University of Bristol. We will then go on to discuss the current and potential future applications of such machines.

I am a PhD researcher in the Soft Robotics group at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, researching artificial muscles. Artificial muscles are a type of soft actuator that undergo a shape change (e.g. contraction) when an external stimulus is applied (e.g. electricity or heat). My PhD is focused on developing biomimetic artificial muscles that replicate the structures and behaviours seen in biological muscles. During this talk, I will discuss what soft robotics and artificial muscles are, and why they are needed for robots to be integrated into the current world.