Name Barry Trimmer | ||
Barry trimmer on soft robotics
Barry A. Trimmer is an English Scientist whose research primarily focuses on biomechanics and soft-bodied locomotion.
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Biography
Trimmer received both his B.A. and Ph.D. from Cambridge University, concentrating in Neurobiology. He is currently professor of biology, Henry Bromfield Pearson Professor of Natural Sciences, and director of the Biomimetic Devices Laboratory (BDL) at Tufts University.
Trimmer and Tufts colleague David L. Kaplan gained international attention in 2007 upon successfully creating the world's first soft-bodied robot. The robot, or SoftBot, is composed of silicone elastomers and resembles a tobacco hornworm, a caterpillar that Trimmer has studied since 1990.
Currently exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York City, Trimmer and Kaplan hope the SoftBot will help "spark revolutions in medicine, the military and even outer-space exploration." Kaplan believes that, among other medical applications, soft-bodied robots could replace tiny cameras that patients swallow to help diagnose diseases.