Dartmouth Events

Abstract:

Imagine a robot architecture that can be 3D printed using commercially available FDM printers, capable of producing (i) robots that can crawl, jump, swim, and dive through confined spaces, (ii) robots that cost as much as a spool of filament, and (iii) robots that can be rapidly customized and fabricated, incorporating mission details into their designs. When integrated with unmanned aerial, ground, and underwater robots, this printable robot architecture becomes the cornerstone of a transformative robot ecosystem—a synergistic collective of autonomous robotic entities optimized for environmental exploration and monitoring. Within this operational framework, conventional robots deploy their low-cost, disposable 3D-printed counterparts into high-risk areas, thus facilitating a decentralized, self-regulated approach to environmental assessment and decision-making.

In my presentation, I will introduce the expansive paradigm of robot ecosystems, but will devote much of the talk to an in-depth examination of the design and fabrication methodologies for 3D-printed robots. Within this context, I will also explore our ongoing work in developing innovative design software to create fluidic control circuitry for printed robots. These technologies serve as the backbone for scalable, interdisciplinary research in the rapidly evolving domain of printable robotics. I will highlight the pivotal role that undergraduate research and educational initiatives at WPI have had in defining this concentrated research area and discuss its broader societal implications, including our work in educating underrepresented groups at the pre-college level.

Brief Biography:

Dr. Markus Nemitz is an Assistant Professor of Robotics Engineering at WPI and leads the Robotic Materials Group (RMG). He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 2018 and trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard until 2020. Pushing towards his vision of rapidly designing robots and materializing them at points of impact, his research interests encompass 3D-printable robotics, real-time adaptive additive manufacturing, automated discovery processes for material systems, and integrated robot ecosystems. These ecosystems involve conventional aerial, ground, and underwater robots and aim to inject laboratory discoveries into real-world environments for search and rescue and environmental monitoring. Dr. Nemitz received an NSF CAREER award for his work on 3D-printable robots in 2023 and secured funding towards implementing robot ecosystems from NSF-RoseHub and the U.S. Army. He published over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles, including Science Robotics, PNAS, and IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.