Objective
I envision a new era for crawling robots capable of autonomously navigating complex environments. Nature's crawling experts, such as snakes, seamlessly combine body deformation and frictional interactions to achieve diverse locomotion patterns in dynamic habitats. Despite significant progress in mimicking their morphing behavior, current crawling soft robots lack versatility and autonomy, often underperforming due to a limited understanding and utilization of frictional interactions with their surroundings.
In the METABOA project, I will investigate and quantify the fundamental mechanisms of friction in snake-inspired soft robotic locomotion by advancing the state of the art on three fronts:
- Dynamic friction modulation through body-skin morphing: I will integrate origami and kirigami metamaterials into the robot's design, enabling coordinated movements and frictional adjustments at the robot-ground interface.
- Enhanced environmental awareness through friction perception: I will incorporate integrated acoustic and vibration sensing mechanisms that maintain structural flexibility and uninterrupted contact states to measure body deformation and frictional interactions in real-time,
- Friction-informed, bioinspired control and learning: I will develop a bioinspired neural controller that generates adaptive gaits and learns new sensorimotor behaviors, leveraging heightened environmental awareness to enable the robot to adapt to dynamic terrains.
By synthesizing these three aspects, I aim to establish foundational design principles that will enable the creation of next-generation crawling soft robots with unparalleled adaptability and agility for navigating challenging environments. This groundbreaking approach paves the way for a new frontier in robotic locomotion, exploiting frictional interactions to conquer difficult terrains and explore otherwise inaccessible environments for applications such as search and rescue, environmental monitoring, and space exploration.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
5230 Odense M
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.