Traditional robots possess fixed morphology and are created for specific functions. This prevents them from adapting to changes in their environment and limits them to carefully controlled manmade settings. Robots that adapt their mechanical properties could better assist humans in the real world. Prof. Do’s work leverages soft robots as a foundation for the design of robots that modulate their mechanical properties to bridge the gap in existing capabilities between soft and rigid robots and enable new capabilities. Prof. Do’s work spans from the actuator level, with soft artificial muscles, to the system level, with growing robots with dynamically reconfigurable joints that possess properties of both soft continuum and rigid serial chain manipulators. Such robots possess increased dexterity and payload capacity while also being simpler to control. More broadly, variable stiffness can be used to create shape changing robots, facilitating new modes of physical interaction – ranging from aerial manipulation to realistic wearable haptics – not possible with previous robots. These paths will contribute to the future design of robots that can actively adapt their form to adapt their function, such as robots soft enough to interact with the elderly but strong enough to transport them or robots versatile enough for multi-terrain search and rescue. This talk will offer an overview of Prof. Do’s research and academic journey, while also providing a preview of upcoming areas of future research in the Do Robotics Lab.
Brian H. Do is an Assistant Professor in the Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Systems Institute at Oregon State University. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from Stanford University and his B.S. from the Georgia Institute of Technology, all in mechanical engineering. He completed his doctoral work in the Stanford CHARM Lab with Prof. Allison Okamura and was a postdoctoral scholar in the Yale University Faboratory with Prof. Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio. Dr. Do aims to create human-centered robots capable of adapting to and interacting with the physical world. His research focuses on the design and modeling of robots that adapt their morphology and mechanical properties for use in exploration, navigation, manipulation, and haptics. He has been named a Trailblazer in Engineering and an RSS Pioneer. He was awarded the Stanford School of Engineering Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Graduation Award for his excellence in mentorship and outreach.