On April 30th, 2025, at 15:00 pm, Barbara Mazzolai, Associate Director for Robotics at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genoa will give a Soft Talk seminar on “Bioinspired and Biohybrid Soft Robots for Environmental Monitoring and Preservation” at the University of Southern Denmark. This seminar is organized by SDU Soft Robotics – The Maersk McKinney Moller Institute and takes place in Odense campus at SDU TEK Ellehammer seminar room Ø28-600-3 – Zoom link is possible via passcode: 305474
Abstract: There is an emerging trend in robotics that aims for a more sustainable approach to technology design. In this vision, artificial machines are constructed using recyclable, biodegradable, or biohybrid materials, possess growth and adaptation capabilities, and are inherently more energy-efficient. These “EcoRobots,” designed to mimic the adaptability of living organisms, can navigate and function effectively in complex and unpredictable environments, seamlessly integrating into natural ecosystems. This presentation will outline our approach to designing and developing EcoRobots. Our primary inspiration comes from soft invertebrates and plants, which exhibit remarkable adaptive capabilities through smart, effective, and efficient strategies. By studying these organisms, we are able to develop innovative technologies featuring eco-friendly structural-functional materials, distributed sensing and intelligence systems, and green biohybrid energy-harvesting mechanisms. Our primary objectives are twofold: first, to identify and extract the fundamental principles underlying biological functions and translate them into technological solutions; and second, to advance our scientific understanding of the biological systems that inspire us. These bioinspired soft robots are designed for a wide range of applications, including the exploration and monitoring of natural environments and infrastructures, archaeological research, space missions, search-and-rescue operations, and even “reverse biology,” where they serve as experimental tools to investigate biological behaviors.
Bio: Barbara Mazzolai is the Associate Director for Robotics and the Director of the Bioinspired Soft Robotics Laboratory at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genoa. From February 2011 to March 2021, she served as the Director of the IIT Center for Micro-BioRobotics (CMBR). She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology (with Honours) from the University of Pisa, Italy, and obtained her Ph.D. in Microsystems Engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Between July 2012 and 2017, she held the position of Deputy Director for the Supervision and Organization of the IIT Centers Network. In 2017, she was a Visiting Faculty at the Aerial Robotics Lab, Department of Aeronautics, at Imperial College London. In 2024, she was appointed as an adjunct professor to teach a course on Soft Robotics at the Politecnico di Milano. Barbara Mazzolai was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (Tübingen and Stuttgart, Germany) from 2016 to 2024. She is currently a member of the SAB at the Max Planck Queensland Centre (MPQC) for the Materials Science of Extracellular Matrices, as well as the Advisory Committee of the Cluster on Living Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS) in Freiburg, Germany. Since 2024, she has also served as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Soft Robotics journal. Her research work revolves around bioinspired soft robotics, where she combines principles from both biology and engineering to advance technological innovation and scientific knowledge. She has been the Coordinator of several EU-funded projects in this field, including PLANTOID, GrowBot, and I-SEED. In May 2021, she began her European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant titled “I-Wood,” focusing on Forest Intelligence: robotic networks inspired by the Wood Wide Web. She is an author and co-author of more than 260 papers published in international journals, books, and conference proceedings.