Imagine a robot. You’re probably envisioning a clunky, rigid metal object that moves slowly & awkwardly. While robot brains have advanced in recent years, their bodies are still primitive. In this fascinating talk, Christoph Keplinger demonstrates his groundbreaking HASEL artificial muscles & explains why the future of robotics is soft. Christoph Keplinger is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, the principal inventor of HASEL artificial muscles, and the co-founder of Artimus Robotics. Originally from Austria, he studied soft matter physics at Johannes Kepler University Linz, before moving to the U.S. to research mechanics and chemistry at Harvard. His interdisciplinary research group works on muscle-mimetic actuators, functional polymers, and energy harvesting. Christoph and his wife are raising their two daughters to be tri-lingual in German, Russian, and English.

Christoph Keplinger is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, the principal inventor of HASEL artificial muscles, and the co-founder of Artimus Robotics. Originally from Austria, he studied soft matter physics at Johannes Kepler University Linz, before moving to the U.S. to research mechanics and chemistry at Harvard. His interdisciplinary research group works on muscle-mimetic actuators, functional polymers, and energy harvesting. Christoph and his wife are raising their two daughters to be tri-lingual in German, Russian, and English. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx