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Intelligent materials for robotics and prostheses - DFG Research Training Group 2430 enters its second funding phase
Dresden researchers want to develop a completely new class of materials in which actuators and sensors are integrated into flexible fibre composites. The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved the 2nd phase of the Research Training Group 2430 "Interactive Fibre-Elastomer Composites" at TU Dresden in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden. The spokesperson is Professor Chokri Cherif from the Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Materials Technology (ITM) at TU Dresden. Over the next four and a half years, a total of 22 doctoral students will be supported in 11 interdisciplinary sub-projects in addition to material and project funding.
07/11/2022
The aim is the simulation-supported development of intelligent material combinations for so-called self-sufficient fibre composites. Actuators and sensors are integrated into the structures and no longer need to be placed subsequently as was previously the case. In the first research phase, important foundations were laid for achieving large two-dimensional deformations in soft, biomimetic structures. The continued funding by the DFG is an acknowledgement of the outstanding results achieved so far. Building on this, the second funding phase will focus on ionic and helical actuator-sensor concepts. The combination with intelligent design and control algorithms will result in self-sufficient, three-dimensionally deforming material systems. This makes these systems more robust, complex preforming patterns can be customised at the desired location - reversibly and contactlessly.
Fibre composites are being used more and more in moving components due to their high specific stiffness and strength as well as the possibility of customising these properties. The integration of adaptive functionalities in such materials eliminates the need for subsequent actuator placement and significantly improves the robustness of the system. Textile-based actuators and sensors, such as those being researched and developed at the ITM, are particularly promising, as they can be integrated directly into the fibre composites during the manufacturing process.
With their innovative properties, interactive fibre elastomer composites are predestined for numerous fields of application in machine and vehicle construction, robotics, architecture, orthotics and prosthetics: Examples include systems for precise gripping and transport processes (e.g. for hand prostheses, closures and deformable membranes) and components (e.g. trim tabs for land and water vehicles).
Source: Press release Technische Universität Dresden from 07.11.22
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