MMAE Seminar - Dr. Matthew Spenko - Transitioning Gecko-like Adhesives for Robotic Applications from the Laboratory to Real-world Environments

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John T. Rettaliata Engineering Center, Room 104, 10 West 32nd Street, Chicago, IL 60616
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Armour College of Engineering's Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Department will welcome Dr. Matthew Spenko, an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, on Wednesday, October 10th, to present his lecture, Transitioning Gecko-like Adhesives for Robotic Applications from the Laboratory to Real-world Environments.

Abstract

Synthetic gecko-like adhesives were first developed in the mid 2000's and have shown promise in climbing robots, perching drones, and robotic grippers for handling flat and curved objects. However, several obstacles have so far prevented gecko-like adhesives from being implemented widely in realworld environments. Most notably, gecko-like adhesives tend to fail in the presence of environmental dirt and debris and when adhering to micro-rough surfaces, such as painted drywall or unfinished wood. This talk will present our lab's progress in overcoming these obstacles, including using electrostatic elements to bolster adhesion and repel dust, piezoelectrics to repel dust, and modifying the material properties of the adhesive.

Biography

Matthew Spenko is an associate professor in the Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering Department at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Prof. Spenko earned the B.S. degree cum laude in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University in 1999 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001 and 2005 respectively. He was an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Scholar in the Mechanical Engineering Department’s Center for Design Research at Stanford University from 2005 to 2007. He has been a faculty member at the Illinois Institute of Technology since 2007 and received tenure in 2013. His research is in the general area of robotics with specific attention to mobility in challenging environments and navigation safety. Prof. Spenko is a member of IEEE and an associate editor of the Journal of Field Robotics. His work has been featured in popular media such as the New York Times, CNET, Engadget, and Discovery News. Examples of his robots are on display in Robot Revolution, a traveling exhibit currently at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

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