Speaker: Mingchao Liu, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Time: 14:00-15:30, 31st October 2024
Location/Room: Room 010 (ground Floor), Engineering North, Bay Campus How to find us
Nature’s ingenuity serves as a profound source of inspiration for developing advanced materials and robotic systems. In this presentation, we explore how biological phenomena inform innovative engineering solutions, focusing on morphing structures and moving mechanisms, both grounded in our understanding of the underlaying mechanics principles. We highlight morphing structure designs inspired by the segmentation architectures found in biological organisms and the dehydration-induced corrugated folding observed in Rhapis excelsa leaves. These designs emphasize adaptability and efficient shape transformation, showcasing the potential for creating functional, morphable systems. Additionally, we examine moving mechanisms, featuring a snap-through enabled insect-scale jumping robot modeled after click beetles and a magnetic robot inspired by the coordinated movements of cilia. These systems prioritize effective modeling to achieve rapid, efficient motion and agile navigation in complex environments. By integrating principles from biology and mechanics, this presentation illustrates how natural strategies can lead to cutting-edge technological advancements, offering new perspectives on the design and modeling of intelligent systems.
For more info contact: Mokarram Hossain
Dr. Mingchao Liu is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham in the UK. Before moving to Birmingham, he was a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore from 2022 to 2023, and a Newton International Fellow at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, sponsored by the Royal Society from 2018 to 2021. He received his Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics from Tsinghua University in 2018, and his B.Eng. in Engineering Mechanics from Shandong University in 2013. He was also an Endeavor Research Fellow at the University of Sydney in 2017 and was awarded the Extreme Mechanics Letters (EML) Young Investigator Award in 2023. His current research is mainly focused on the mechanics of slender structures, particularly dynamic instabilities, and their applications in modeling and designing robotic metamaterials with innovative functions. These include programmable robotic behaviors such as shape-morphing, locomotion, mechanical sensing, actuation, and memory, as well as tunable mechanical properties.