Courtesy of S. Babali/Unsplash
Courtesy of S. Babali/Unsplash
Courtesy of S. Babali/Unsplash But Kevin Chen, professor in MIT’s Soft and Micro Robotics Laboratory, focuses his research on insect-sized robots to answer questions at the smallest scales. In this SciCafe, Chen will introduce us to micro robots, including the dragonfly model he and colleagues developed that will be featured in the Museum’s new Solomon Family Insectarium, and show us what we learn about the laws of physics from studying insects. Just like the bugs that inspired them, these micro robots are able to traverse diverse environments on land, in water, and in the air. Join us to see just how tiny technology can lead to big the findings can be from such a small piece of technology.
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Kevin Chen is currently the D. Reid Weedon, Jr. ’41 Career Development Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. He received his Ph.D. degree in engineering sciences at Harvard University in 2017 and his bachelor’s degree in applied and engineering physics from Cornell University in 2012. His work focuses on developing multifunctional and multimodal insect-scale robots and he suggests the following resources for more on this topic.
Quick Pick:
Recent write-up from MIT News: Robotic lightning bugs take flight
Deep Dive:
His recent publication in Micromachines journal: Design, Characterization, and Liftoff of an Insect-Scale Soft Robotic Dragonfly Powered by Dielectric Elastomer Actuators