self-healing soft robotics...internal documents meant for the consortium partners are shared through...

SHEROAgreement#828818Deliverable4.1

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TheSHEROprojectisfundedundertheFutureandEmergingTechnologies(FET)programmeoftheEuropeanCommission(grantagreementID828818).

Deliverable4.1:DisseminationandExploitationplan

Self-Healing Soft Robotics

Callidentifier:H2020-FET-2019

GrantAgreement:#828818

Version Number: V1.0 Authors: Fumiya Iida, University of Cambridge

Thomas George Thuruthel, University of Cambridge Josie Hughes, University of Cambridge Bram Vanderborght, VUB Ellen Roels, VUB

Date of preparation: 02/08/2019 Date of last modification: 02/08/2019 Expected delivery date: 01/08/2019 Actual delivery date: NA Notes: NA


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TABLEOFCONTENTS

SECTION1SHEROPROJECTEXECUTIVESUMMARY.........................................................................3SECTION2OBJECTIVEOFTHEDOCUMENT......................................................................................4SECTION3SHEROWEBSITE..............................................................................................................5

3.1Overviewofthewebsite................................................................................................53.2Websitestructure..........................................................................................................5

SECTION4SHEROLOGO……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...7SECTION5SHEROSLIDETEMPLATEANDBANNER............................................................................7SECTION6SHEROWEB2.0TOOLS:TWITTER...................................................................................8SECTION7FIRSTPRESSRELEASE......................................................................................................9


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SECTION1:SHEROPROJECTEXECUTIVESUMMARY

TheradicalvisionoftheSHEROproject istheambitiousdevelopmentoffully-autonomousself-healingsoftroboticdevices,byintegratingengineeredfunctionalmaterials,smartsensingandactiveactuationandcontrolcapabilitiesintosoftrobots.Thesesoftroboticsystemswillbeabletosenseandevaluatelossofperformanceandhealdamagedueto fatigue,overloading,and injuriesbysharpobjectspresent indynamicenvironmentsorbyhumancontact.Suchfullyintegratedself-healingroboticsystems-andbyextensionotherdevices,machinesandstructures-areunprecedentedinscientificliterature.

Thisprojectwillchallengethelimitsofcurrentstate-of-the-artresearchtofortifythefoundationsforallthree pillars of mechatronic design: actuation, sensing and control, supported by advanced materialdesign.Mergedintoprototypesanddemonstrators,thesefundamentalprinciplesarefurtherrefinedinviewofasynergisticdevelopmentofmorecomplexandautonomousroboticsystems.Theresultsoftheprojectwillreachfurtherthanthealreadybroadfieldofroboticsandautomation.Theseconceptscanbeimplemented inbothdynamicand static applicationsandenvironments. The combinationofmaterialsystems containing passive and active healing mechanisms with smart sensory capabilities couldrevolutionize automotive, aerospace and naval industries, on- and offshore energy production,manufacturingandconstructionsectors,illustratingtheoverarchingimpactofthispioneeringtechnologyonthedevelopmentofmorereliableandsustainableproducts,findingapplicationsthroughoutsociety.

Thebreakthroughtargetedintheprojectisthedevelopmentofcompleteroboticsystemsthatareabletofeelpain(sensemicroscopicandmacroscopicdamage),reactintelligentlytorelievethepain(evaluateperformanceandpreventcatastrophicfailure),takethenecessarymeasurestohealthedamageandtorestore all functions (induce or facilitate a controlled autonomous or non-autonomous healing ofdamaged elements), perform a rehabilitation (evaluate the quality of the healing process and takemeasuresaccordingly),and,finally,returntoaction.Theunique,integrateddesignofSHcapabilitiesinrobotic systems with intelligent control will lead to lighter, more efficient, more reliable and moresustainabledesigns,aspreventiveandcorrectivehealingwilldrasticallyincreasetheperformancelifetimeandreliabilityofsuchsystems,evenunderunpredictableconditions.Onthelongterm,theprojectwillprovidethefundamentalinsightsandscientificdevelopmentstointroduceperformanceevaluationandstructural health monitoring, along with active control and intelligence to a much broader range ofapplicationdomains.


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SECTION2:OBJECTIVEOFTHEDOCUMENT Theobjectiveofthisdocumentistoreporttheactivitiescarriedoutforthe“Task4.1-disseminationandexploitationplan”intheframeworkofWP4abouttheexternaldisseminationmeansoftheSHEROproject.Thisdocumentreportstheactivitiesrelatedto:

• thedesignoftheSHEROprojectwebsiteinSection3;• thedesignoftheSHEROprojectlogoinSection4• thedesignoftheSHEROslidetemplateandroll-upbannerinSection5;• thedesignoftheWeb2.0toolsfordisseminationoftheSHEROresultsinSection6.• theoverviewoftheplannedpressreleasescheduledonAugust72019inSection7.


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SECTION 3: SHERO WEBSITE

3.1Overviewofthewebsite

ThewebsiteoftheSHEROprojectwasdesignedbytheUniversityofCambridge.ThewebsiteusestheopensourceWordpress for itscontentmanagement.Theofficialwebaddressof theSHEROproject ishttp://www.sherofet.eu/.

Theofficialwebsiteistheprimarychannelforprovidinginformationaboutthetothescientificcommunity,thenationalandEuropeanpolicy-makers,andthegeneralpublic.Astheprojectisstillinitsnascentstage,the details available now are limited to the project objective, state-of-the-art and relevant mediapublications.

ThemaingoalofthewebsiteistoraisepublicawarenessaswellastoupdatethescientificcommunityontheprogressoftheSHEROproject.ThewebsiteworksintandemwiththeWeb2.0tool(Twitteraccount)forprovidingdetailedandsuccinctinformationrespectively.EachpageofthewebsitealsocontainslinktotheSHEROtwitteraccount.

Internal documents meant for the consortium partners are shared through Microsoft SharepointorganizedbyVUB,aweb-basedcollaborativeplatformthatintegrateswithMicrosoftOffice.

3.2Websitestructure

Thewebsitecontainsthefollowingsectionsandsubsections(Figure1):

• Home• Project• Team• Resources• RelevantPublications• Media• News• Contact

With the progress of the SHERO project, the resources, publications, media and news page will beperiodicallyupdated.ThewebsiteisalsotrackedwithGoogleAnalyticstogagetheimpactoftheprojectandthedisseminationstrategies.


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Fig.1.Overviewofthewebsitewww.sherofet.eu.


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SECTION 4: SHERO LOGO

TheSHEROlogohasbeendevelopedin-housebyVUBandincorporatessymbolicallytheaimoftheproject.Severaldesignswereproposed,thefinaldecisionwasmadebyvote.

Thecolourgreenisusedasitisthecolorofgrowthandrejuvenation,athemethatclearlycorrespondstotheself-healingabilityoftherobotsthatwillbedeveloped.Thecomplementaryorangeisusedtocreateaccents.Thecombinationofbothcoloursrepresentsthemultidisciplinarynature(roboticsandmaterialscience)ofthisproject.

IntheletterS,thetrianglesymbolizesdamagethatcanoccurtothematerial,whiletheOrepresentstwogrippersholdinganobject.Thegrippersareconnectedtoarobot(theletterR)whichisoneofthemaindemonstratorsthatwillbebuilt.ThesymbolofthecirclewithC-shapedarmsaroundisalsoamodelfrequentlyusedtodepict(reversible)bondsinsideamaterial.

SECTION 5: SHERO SLIDE TEMPLATE AND BANNER Togetherwiththelogo,aslidetemplatehasbeendesigned(Fig.2.)thatcanbeusedforinternalandexternalpresentations.ThetemplateincludesalllogosofthepartnerinstitutionsandtheEuropeanCommission,theSHEROwebsiteandtwitterhandleforeasyreference.

Thesamevisualelementsarevisibleintheroll-upbanner(Fig.3.),togetherwithsomeimagesonself-healingmaterialsandrobots.Thebannerwillbesetupateventstoincreasevisibility.

Fig.2.Theslidedesigntobeusedforinternalandexternalpresentations.

Fig.3.Theroll-upbannerattheVUBlab.


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SECTION 6: SHERO WEB 2.0 TOOLS: TWITTER TheSHEROConsortiumhascreatedanewTwitteraccountfortheproject.AnoverviewofthehomepageoftheSHEROTwitteraccountisshowninFigure4.ThenameofthenewaccountisSHERO,anditcanbereachedbyusingthefollowingTwitteraddress:@SHERO_FET.

ThemaingoaloftheTwitteraccountistoprovideaquickerandmorefrequentupdatesontheprojecttothegeneralpublic, thescientificcommunity, thepartners in theconsortiumand theEuropeanpolicy-makers. The Twitter account also serves as amedium to connectwith other projects and researchesrelevanttotheproject.

Fig.4. Overview of the SHERO twitter account


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SECTION 7: FIRST PRESS RELEASE

TheSHEROconsortiumisplanninganinitialpressreleaseonAugust7thtokickstartthebeginningoftheproject and increase public enthusiasm. The idea behind having an early August press release is toleveragethetypicalinactiveinthenewsmediaduringAugust.Eachprojectpartnerwillcoordinatewiththeirownmarketing team todisseminate theproject. Thearticles are sufficiently supplementedwithpicturesandvideostomakethearticlesmoreattractiveforpublication.Thedraftofthepressreleaseisprovidedintheappendix.


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APPENDIX:PRESSRELEASEDRAFT

PressreleaseVrijeUniversiteitBrussel

VUB,UniversityofCambridge,ESPCI,EmpaandSupraPolixreceive3millionEuroinEuropeansupportforgroundbreakingresearchintoself-healingrobots

Thissupportisprovidedintheframeworkofthe"Future&EmergingTechnologies"programmeoftheEuropeanUnion

Robotsareplayingan increasinglybiggerpart inourdaily lifeandwork.Over thenext threeyears,researchersfromtheVrijeUniversiteitBrussel,UniversityofCambridge,ÉcoleSupérieuredePhysiqueetdeChimieIndustriellesdelavilledeParis(ESPCI-Paris)andSwissFederalLaboratoriesforMaterialsScience and Technology (Empa) will be working together with the Dutch Polymer manufacturerSupraPolixon thenextgenerationof robots: (soft) robots that ‘feelpain’andheal themselves.Thepartnerscancounton3millionEuroinsupportfromtheEuropeanCommission.

Soonrobotswillnotonlybefoundinfactoriesandlaboratories,butwillbeassistingusinourimmediateenvironment.Theywillhelpusinthehousehold,toreduceourworkloadsandtomakeourlivessafer.Robotswillworkside-by-sidewithusanditisimportantthatthisisdoneinasafeway.Inordertoenablemanipulationof fragileobjectswithdexterityandtoguaranteepeople’ssafety,manynextgenerationrobotsarebuiltfromflexiblematerials.Becausetheyaresoft,theycan’thurtpeople.Butthis,atthesametime,meansthatthese‘softrobots’areparticularlyvulnerabletocrackscausedbysharpobjectsthatarepresentallaroundus.Therepairswhichareneededtogetthoserobotsbacktoworkoftentaketimeandarethereforeverypricey.

Toavoidthis,thescientistswilldeveloptechnologieswithinthenewSHEROprojectthatallowsoftrobotstoself-healdamage.Becausethisrepairprocessshouldnotinvolvehumans,theresearchersarelookinginto self-healing materials to build the soft robots with. These flexible plastics can completely healthemselveswhentheyaredamaged.Imbeddedfunctionalmaterialwillassiststosenseandactuatetheselfhealingprocess.TheambitiousgoaloftheEuropeanprojectistocreateasoftrobotmadefromaself-healingmaterial,whichcandetectdamage, take thenecessarysteps to (temporarily)heal thedefect,provisionallyastocompletetheworkinprogress,ormorecompletelyduringtheserviceoperation.

ThisprestigiousprojectisledbytheUniversityofBrussels(VUB)withateamofscientistsoftheroboticsresearchcentreBruboticsandthepolymerresearchlabFYSC.Prof.Vanderborght,managingtheproject,explains:“Weareobviouslyverypleasedtobeworkingonthenextgenerationofrobots.Overthepastfewyears,wehavealreadytakenthefirststeps increatingself-healingmaterials forrobots.Withthisresearchwewanttocontinueand,aboveall,ensurethatrobotsthatareusedinourworkingenvironmentaresafer,butalsomoresustainable.Duetotheself-repairmechanismofthisnewkindofrobots,complex,costlyrepairsmaybeathingofthepast."


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DrThomasGeorgeThuruthel,ResearchAssociateinSoftRoboticsSensingandSelf-HealingattheDepartmentofEngineering,UniversityofCambridge:“Wewillbeusingmachinelearningtoworkonthemodellingandintegrationoftheseself-healingmaterials,toincludeself-healingactuatorsandsensors,damagedetection,localisationandcontrolledhealing.Theendgoalistointegratetheself-healingsensorsandactuatorsintodemonstrationplatformsinordertoperformspecifictasks.”

EmpainSwitzerlandwillfocusonnewflexiblesensorsandactuators,whichcanbeembeddedintotheself-healingpolymers.DrFrankClemens,GroupleaderattheLaboratoryforHighPerformanceCeramics,Empa:"Inafirststepwewillembedourpiezoresistivesoftmaterialsensorfibresintheself-healingpolymertosensecontinuouslythestrainandtodetecttheregionwhereself-healingprocesshastobeactivated.Inlaterstepotherkindofsensorandactuatorswillbeintegrated,dependingonthefinalapplication".

ESPCI-Paris,wherethefirstself-healingelastomericmaterialswerecreated,participatesintheproject."Weareexcitedtobepartofthisambitiousresearchprojectatthecrossroadsbetweensoftmatterphysics,materialschemistryandinformationscience."Softroboticsisanexcellentopportunityforinvolvingnewmaterials".

DrBosmanofSupraPolix:”WefeelprivilegedtobeapartnerinthisconsortiumofEurope’stopresearchgroupsonsoftrobotics.Weareconvincedthatourself-healingmaterialscanbringthisfieldtothenextlevel,therebycreatingvalueforSupraPolix,robotics,andthecommunityatlarge.”

Formoreinformation,pleasecontact:Prof.dr.BramVanderborghtBruboticsandFlandersMakebram.vanderborght@vub.be0486522962

AboutFuture&EmergingTechnologies(FET):MaybethevisionaryaspectsandexploratorycharacteristicsofFETsoundlikeakindofmagic,butthemissionofFETisactuallyveryconcrete:toconvertEurope'sexcellentscientificknowledgeandresearchintoacompetitiveadvantage.

ItisexpectedthatFETprojectswillbringaboutradicaltechnologicalinnovationsthroughinnovativecollaborationsbetweenmultidisciplinaryscienceandpioneeringengineering.ItwillhelpEuropetotaketheleadatanearlystageinthesepromisingfuturetechnologyareasthatareabletorefreshthebasisforfutureEuropeancompetitivenessandgrowth,andmakeadifferenceforsocietyoverthenextfewdecades.

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