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ME 23N: Soft Robots for Humanity

Welcome

Welcome to ME 23N: Soft Robots for Humanity. Students in this class will learn how to design, make, and test soft robots. This class is a Freshman Introductory Seminar, and is aimed toward students with interests in engineering and societal impact of robots. This class requires high school physics (non-calculus-based) and a little familiarity with programming. Attendance is required. Due to the interactive nature and laboratory aspect of this class, we cannot accommodate auditors . Course information and policies are contained in the syllabus.

The instructor is Allison Okamura, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. Allison has been a professor in the field of robotics for about 19 years. Dr. Laura Blumenschein co-designed this course, and a number of course materials were shared by Elliot Hawkes at University of California, Santa Barbara. The Course Development Assistants are Ari Brown (BS student in biomechanical engineering) and TIta Kanjanapas (MS student in mechanical engineering).

Lectures/LabsTuesdays and Thursdays 1:30-2:50 pm in Building 520, Room 145 (also known as the d'Arbeloff Teaching Lab)
Allison's Office HoursImmediately after class (for now)

Lecture and Lab Materials

Lecture and lab materials are posted here.

Week 1, 9/24 & 9/26:Slides 1
Week 2, 10/1 & 10/3:Slides 2Lab 1
Week 3, 10/8 & 10/10:Slides 3Lab 2
Week 4, 10/15 & 10/17Slides 4Lab 3
Week 5, 10/22 & 10/24Slides 5Lab 4
Week 6, 10/29 & 10/31Slides 6Lab 5
Week 7, 11/5 & 11/7Slides 7Lab 6
Week 8, 11/12 & 11/14Slides 8Project
Week 9, 11/19 & 11/21Project work (no slides)
Week 10, 12/3 & 12/5Project work (no slides)

Project

The final project involves creating a soft robot to accomplish a task that benefits people. Project demonstrations were Dec. 5 from 2:00 to 2:50 pm in Building 520, Room 145 (d'Arbeloff Teaching Lab). The project description is here, and the results of student projects are posted here.