Advances of robotic systems in recent years are largely attributed to increases in computing performance, as well as progresses in machine learning and control theories. However, there has been little change in the way robots are assembled or in the choice of materials, actuators and sensors that are used to drive current robotic systems. The traditional concept of motor driven robots based on mechanical transmission and computer control is deeply rooted in the current hardware design of robotic systems. Exciting advances in materials science, including the development of smart materials, energy harvesting and actuation-schemes, as well as the adoption of bio-inspired design principles can offer radically new ways to construct and operate robots. This is a three-day symposium and the focus of this symposium is to inspire and discuss the latest development of new materials and fabrication schemes that can support the development of a new generation of robots that are multi-functional, power-efficient, compliant, and autonomous in ways akin to biological organisms. It addresses new working mechanisms for actuation, assembly, and reconfiguration, strategical large-scale fabrication, as well as applications in molecular and cellular delivery, surgery, and sensing.It will also discuss the role of materials research for biohybrid and bioinspired robots that translate fundamental biological principles into engineering design rules and smart materials or integrate living components into synthetic structures to create robots that perform like natural systems. This symposium aims to provide a timely supporting platform for scientists and engineers to disseminate, communicate, and form collaborations.

2D materials additive manufacturing biological synthesis (assembly) biomaterial biomimetic biomimetic (assembly) microstructure polymer tissue