Tenure-track professorship for Soft Machines established

Engineer Edoardo Milana will research bioinspired soft robotic systems made of deformable and adaptive materials at the University of Freiburg. Dr. Edoardo Milana has been appointed Tenure-Track-Professor for Soft Machines at the Institute of Microsystems Engineering at the University of Freiburg as of May 1, 2023. The newly established professorship focuses on the development of soft robotic systems made of deformable and adaptive materials. Milana will strengthen the research of the Cluster of Excellence Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials ( MatS) in the field and work closely with scientists from the Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies (FIT) and the Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF). Advantages over rigid robots. Conventional robots are made of rigid materials and require numerous motors and precise control algorithms to respond in a flexible manner. Soft robots, on the other hand, are made of materials such as gels or elastomers, and are able to harness their compliance to perform specific functions.