Doctoral defence: Yauheni Sarokin "Passive and Active Liquid Mediation in Natural and Synthetic Morphing Systems"

On 21 November at 13:15 Yauheni Sarokin will defend his doctoral thesis "Passive and Active Liquid Mediation in Natural and Synthetic Morphing Systems" for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Physical Engineering)

Supervisors:
Associate Professor Indrek Must, University of Tartu
Professor Alvo Aabloo, University of Tartu

Opponent:
Professor Veikko Tapani Sariola BioMEMS / Professori, Bio- ja mikroelektromekaaniset systeemit (stage IV), Tampere University, Finland

Summary:
Plants adjust their stiffness and shape by redistributing water. Plant structures can direct water to cause local swelling when and where needed, which is a sustainable approach to adapting to a changing environment. There is also a demand for wearable technology that assists body movement locally, without heavy and bulky external devices. Despite the promise of plant-inspired liquid mechanisms to deliver robotic functionality in highly integrated structures and greater wearer comfort, practical engineered systems that modulate mechanical behavior via localized swelling have not been developed. Moreover, liquid–tissue interaction in plants is still not fully understood. The introduced liquid displacement monitoring methods enabled elucidation of liquid–matrix interaction mechanisms in plant and synthetic structures. The thesis showed the significance of hydration history in systems’ responsiveness. The revealed non-uniform local liquid volume variations highlight how configurational changes are amplified in the mechanically most relevant parts of the system, enabling optimization of swelling speed and extent. By introducing cues from natural liquid-mediated systems and integrating active liquid control, this work implemented a synthetic variable-stiffness system that can swell on demand. As a result, the thesis not only advances the theory of liquid-mediated embodied intelligence but also offers guidelines for liquid-mediated soft-robotic systems.

Defence can be followed in Zoom: Doctoral Defence (meeting ID: 953 058 8152, passcode: kaitsmine).