Abstract of the Workshop

Scientists have been seeking for more sustainable and green technology to mitigate the adverse impact on environment and human society. Along with the development of soft robotics field, more and more new sustainable, soft and smart materials have been developed and have been used for fabricating various kinds of soft robots. At the same time, 3D printing technology has been experiencing an extraordinary boom and has been utilized in many fields across industry and education. 3D printing has also been investigated intensively by researchers in the field of soft robotics for fast prototyping soft and complex structures and mechanisms. 4D printing technology, as a relatively new concept proposed almost a decade ago, targets on printing smart materials which can spontaneously generate deformation or change physical properties after printing. The combination of smart material and 3D/4D printing technologies is opening new opportunities for developing novel soft robots and interesting applications. This workshop aims at bringing together distinguish researchers from different research fields including material science, 3D/4D printing, and soft robotics to identify, discuss, and explore the opportunities and potentials in using smart materials and 3D/4D printing for soft robotics applications. Topics will cover broadly smart materials, fabrication, theoretical modeling, simulation, and applications of sustainable soft robotics. In addition, we will showcase a hydrogel 3D printer which will be brought to the workshop and demonstration will be conducted during the workshop.