Project
Project description
The livMatS Demonstrator project aims to build three lines of demonstrators, which are supposed to perform simple decision-making. My aim is to develop mechanisms that enable this decision-making through stimulus-response-systems, which I will implement on the material level. Since this requires the rapid prototyping of complex geometries, I am currently constructing a multi-material 3D-printer capable of combining up to eight substances.
Project outcomes
In my work, I designed a tool-changing multi-material 3D printer and used it to research components for pneumatic soft robotics. A particular focus here, in addition to air-driven actuators, was on electronics-free logic devices. These are capable of switching binary signals on a pneumatic basis and mimicking the function of electrical logic gates. Based on these components, several electronics-free compliant machines were implemented as part of my work, highlighting their potential for livMatS and the further development of 3D-printed soft robotics.
Supervisor and dissertation
Prof. Dr. Thomas Speck
Stefan Conrad completed his dissertation in September 2023.
Dissertation: 3D-gedruckte Aktuatoren und Material-eingebettete Logik für die Anwendung in der pneumatischen Softrobotik
Current position
Postdoctoral researcher at the DELIVER project of the Carl Zeiss Foundation working on data driven engineering of sustainable living materials.
Publications in livMatS
- An Insect-Inspired Soft Robot Controlled by Soft Valves*
Teichmann, J., Auth, P., Conrad, S., Speck, T., & Tauber, F. (2023). An Insect-Inspired Soft Robot Controlled by Soft Valves. In: Meder, F., Hunt A., Margheri, L., Mura, A. & Mazzolai, B. (eds.): Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Living Machines 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (pp. 428-441). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-38857-6_31
- Multi-material FDM 3D Printed Arm with Integrated Pneumatic Actuator*
Conrad, S., Speck, T., Tauber, F. (2022). Multi-material FDM 3D Printed Arm with Integrated Pneumatic Actuator. In: Hunt, A., et al. (eds.), Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Living Machines 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (pp. 27–31), vol 13548. Springer, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-20470-8_3
- Tool changing 3D printer for rapid prototyping of advanced soft robotic elements*
Conrad, S., Speck, T., & Tauber, F. (2021). Tool changing 3D printer for rapid prototyping of advanced soft robotic elements. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. doi: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac095a
- Multi-material 3D-printer for rapid prototyping of bioinspired soft robotic elements*
Conrad, S., Speck, T., & Tauber, F. (2020). Multi-material 3D-printer for rapid prototyping of bioinspired soft robotic elements. In Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems. Living Machines 2020, 46 – 54. Lecture Notes in Computer Science LNAI 12413. Springer International Publishing, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-64313-3_6
* Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy – EXC-2193/1 – 390951807