Soft Robotics Presentation: Associate Professor Matteo Cianchetti

by Mr Harald Minde Hansen (CERN (BE-CEM-MRO)), Prof. Matteo Cianchetti (The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

Friday 21 Nov 2025, 14:00 → 15:00 Europe/Zurich

774/R-013 (CERN)

A widespread use of soft mechatronic technologies is leading to a different approach to the design of systems and sub-systems, where certain tasks benefit from the properties of soft-bodied parts. A key feature of soft materials is their highly nonlinear mechanical behaviour. While this introduces complexity in modelling and usability, it also represents a remarkable source of richness that can make many tasks easier to accomplish. In this context, the theoretical concept of Embodied Intelligence can be partially yet pragmatically applied. This interpretation of Artificial Intelligence suggests that the body itself plays a fundamental role in enabling adaptive behaviour through interaction with the environment. The body serves as a computational means, determined by three fundamental aspects: material properties, shape, and the geometrical arrangement of its components. The seminar will focus on how soft robotics can be used to explore scientific questions related to embodied intelligence, present the technological advancements developed at the Soft Mechatronics for Biorobotics Lab, and illustrate the biorobotic applications enabled by such technologies.