Descrizione del progetto
Conduttori elettrici biodegradabili per promuovere la robotica
Gli attuali materiali utilizzati per l’elettronica non sono sostenibili a causa di vari motivi, quali la loro scarsità, tossicità e difficoltà di riciclaggio. Ciononostante, essi sono necessari per la robotica, un settore che sta diventando essenziale per garantire la prosperità dell’economia europea. Il progetto BioConTact, finanziato dall’UE, affronterà questo problema sviluppando conduttori elettrici scalabili, leggeri e flessibili, realizzati in materiali facilmente reperibili. In questi conduttori, la biodegradabilità regolabile sarà ottenuta mediante la formulazione dei materiali. La tecnologia sviluppata risulterà fondamentale per applicazioni in cui la stabilità a lungo termine si configura come un fattore di cruciale importanza, come le pelli robotiche, o per il controllo ambientale della degradazione, come nel caso dell’elettronica transiente bioriassorbibile.
Obiettivo
BioConTact will engineer electrical conductors with a controllable biodegradability that are flexible, lightweight, scalable, and produced with readily available materials. The tunable degradation will be finely controlled through the material formulation. Thus, this unique technology will be indispensable for applications where long-term stability is crucial, such as robotic skin, or those requiring environmental control of degradation, such as bioresorbable transient electronics. These conductors will be assembled as human mimicking robotic skin for the iCub, the flagship open-source robot developed by the beneficiary, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. The fellow will utilise his experience in the design of materials for sustainable electronics, exploit the supervisor’s and co-supervisor’s knowledge on biodegradation and robotic tactile sensors, and benefit from their excellent laboratories, Smart Materials and Humanoid Sensing and Perception, respectively.
This research is motivated by the ever-growing need for sustainable and biodegradable materials for electronics. Consumer electronics are indeed pervasive in European society, with more than 230 million users. Yet, materials for electronics are not sustainable because of their scarcity, toxicity, and recycling complexity, which are detrimental for manufacturers, governments, and society. Besides, electronic wastes are accumulating globally and will reach a production rate of 120 million metric tons per year by 2050. Simultaneously, robotics, which are vital for a thriving European economy, are becoming omnipresent. Hence, the transition to sustainable and biodegradable alternatives to current electronics will boost the progress of environmentally friendly technologies in robotics. This transformation is in line with the 2030 European Sustainable Development Goals and the Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges program that promotes a greener and sustainable European society.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
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Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
16163 Genova
Italia