22/04/26
SoftLab had a fantastic week at RoboSoft 2026 in Kanazawa, Japan, where we presented three papers and an extended abstract across the main conference and workshops.
đ Xin Li presented âSnapping Actuators with Asymmetric and Sequenced Motionâ at the Mechanisms, Design, and Fabrication session, and took home a Best Poster Award at the workshop Soft Transitions: Soft Robots for Land, Amphibious, and Underwater Locomotion â a fantastic recognition of her work on small-scale soft robots with minimal control.
đ Mohsen Jafarpour presented âTendon-Driven Reciprocating and Non-Reciprocating Motion via Snapping Metabeamsâ in the same session. His metabeams demonstrator at the Zooquarium was featured in the top 10 and will be showcased on the YouTube channel 3D Printing Doctor â stay tuned!
đ Hugo Oliveira presented âOri-Sense: Origami Capacitive Sensing for Soft Robotic Applicationsâ at the Sensor session, showcasing our Kresling-inspired soft capacitive sensor for proprioceptive feedback.
đ€ Johannes Frey presented his extended abstract âParametric Metashells for Optimized Variable Stiffness Grippersâ, introducing multistable cylindrical metamaterials as a clutch mechanism for grippers capable of switching between discrete stiffness states.
Prof. Milana also gave an invited talk at the Monolithic Soft Systems workshop, sharing our vision for the future of integrated soft robotic design.
An inspiring week surrounded by the best in soft robotics â already looking forward to what comes next!
22/01/26
Our new paper is out in Advanced Science! In collaboration with the groups of Dorothea Helmer and Bastian Rapp at the University of Freiburg, we present a monolithic inflatable origami soft gripper fabricated via Digital Light Processing (DLP) printing using a bio-based resin derived from soybean oil.
The developed resin contains 90 wt.% renewable components and achieves a bio-carbon content (BCC) of 73% â a meaningful step toward greener soft robotics beyond petroleum-based polymers. The gripper is fabricated in a single DLP printing step, eliminating manual assembly such as glueing and folding, and demonstrates the ability to manipulate a variety of objects.
Big thanks to Ramin Montazeri and Hugo Oliveira for leading this work, and to livMatS for the funding support!
01/10/25
On October 1, 2025, Prof. Dr. Edoardo Milana was invited as a speaker at the Unconventional Robotics Symposium, âEmbodied Intelligence: Physical Control and Computation,â hosted by the TU Delft Robotics Institute. The symposium focuses on a central question in modern robotics and intelligence: how physical systems themselves can embody control and computation, moving beyond purely software-driven approaches. The event brought together researchers at the intersection of robotics, materials, mechanics, and intelligence, fostering discussion on how morphology, compliant structures, and unconventional mechanical design can actively contribute to control and intelligent behavior. In this context, Milanaâs contribution aligns with our broader research vision on embodied control and the role of physical design in enabling more capable, efficient, and adaptive robotic systems. The symposium featured talks from outstanding colleagues including Buse AktaĆ, Benjamin Gorissen, Helmut Hauser, Corentin Coulais, Claudio Gallicchio, Johannes T. B. (Bas) Overvelde, and Emanuela Del Dottore, offering both depth and diversity of perspectives. The event was organized by Davood Farhadi, Ebrahim Shahabi, and Cosimo Della Santina. The live stream and recordings are available at this link.
12/06/25
In an insightful interview published on June 12, 2025, Jun.-Prof. Edoardo Milana of the University of Freiburg (Institute of Microsystems Engineering and the Cluster of Excellence livMatS) discusses how advancing mechanical design and innovative mechanics can significantly broaden the capabilities of robots. Milana highlights that while artificial intelligence continues to empower robots with impressive software âbrains,â itâs the physical embodied designâthe âbodyââthat remains critically underemphasized. He argues that this imbalance renders many robots akin to puppets, overly reliant on software control. By improving the body designâespecially through soft, flexible roboticsârobots can operate more efficiently, agilely, and safely. Read the full interview at this link.
12/05/25
We are excited to share that livMatS served as an official partner of the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), held from April 23 to 26 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Under the theme âInterdisciplinarity and Widening Horizons,â livMatS researchers organized an interdisciplinary workshop that brought together experts from philosophy, robotics, and materials science. Jun.-Prof. Edoardo Milana, alongside Prof. Marco Tamborini (Technical University of Darmstadt) and Prof. Johannes (Bas) Overvelde (Eindhoven University of Technology), led the workshop titled âBioinspired Autonomy: Philosophical Aspects Meet Technological Challenges.â The session featured a keynote by Prof. Thomas Speck and included engaging discussions on embodied intelligence and energy autonomy in soft robotics. Read more about our involvement in RoboSoft 2025 on the livMatS website at this link.
02/10/24
We are proud to announce that our Postdoc Hugo de Souza Oliveira has won the Best Talk Award 2nd Place at the 2024 IEEE International Flexible Electronics Technology Conference (IFETC) in Bologna, Italy. His talk was titled âProprioceptive multistable mechanical metamaterial via soft capacitive sensorsâ. Congratulations, Hugo!
Read the article on the livMatS website at this link.
25/07/24
We are thrilled to announce that Prof. Edoardo Milana, has been awarded a grant from the Volkswagen Foundation as part of their âPioneering Research â Exploring the Unknown Unknownâ program. This funding will support our research on soft robotics and enable us to explore new frontiers in this exciting field.
Read the full press release on the University of Freiburg website at this link.
18/06/24
It was an extreme pleasure and honor to host Prof. Satoshi Konishi from Ritsumeikan University in our laboratories! Prof. Konishi is a luminary in MEMS and pioneered flexible pneumatic microactuators in the early 2000s, laying the foundation for the field of soft robotics!
26/03/25
As part of the âTF Uncoveredâ interview series, Prof. Edoardo Milana shares insights into his research journey, the motivation behind his work in soft robotics, and what drives his scientific curiosity. The interview offers a personal look at the newest members of the Faculty of Engineering (Technische FakultĂ€t) at the University of Freiburg, highlighting Prof. Milanaâs goals, inspirations, and his excitement about being part of the IMTEK community.
Read the full interview on the University of Freiburg website at this link.
09/11/23
On November 9th, 2023, Prof. Edoardo Milana delivered his inaugural lecture at the Faculty of Engineering, officially marking the launch of his research group at the University of Freiburg. In his lecture, Prof. Milana introduced the groupâs vision and work in soft robotics, highlighting the integration of flexible materials and intelligent systems inspired by biological principles.
Read the full article on the University of Freiburg website at this link.
01/06/23
In a recent interview featured on career-start-bw.com, Prof. Edoardo Milana shares insights into the Freiburg Rising Stars Academy, an initiative designed to connect international early-career researchers with the University of Freiburg. Prof. Milana discusses how the program promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and offers unique pathways toward academic careers in Germany.
Read the full interview on the career-start-bw.com website at this link.
02/05/23
We are excited to announce that the SoftLab has officially started at the University of Freiburg! On May 1st, 2023, Prof. Edoardo Milana joined the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) as a Juniorprofessor. The SoftLab is the research group led by Prof. Edoardo Milana, focusing on soft robotics and advanced materials. We are looking forward to exciting research and collaborations in the field of soft robotics!
Read the full press release on the University of Freiburg website at this link.
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