The event was held across several institutions, including the University of Stuttgart, the Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA), offering participants a diverse experience.
The SPP members had the opportunity to engage in hands-on workshops at the Institute of Polymer Chemistry and follow the works of the Institute of Applied Mechanics (MIB), where they delved into the principles of the of soft materials mechanics. A highlight of the Summer School was the guided tour through the Max-Planck Institute, where attendees were presented the latest developments in Hasel actuators. Participants gained interesting and fascinating knowledge on the design, fabrication, and implementation of these in soft robotic systems.
The Summer School also featured a comprehensive workshop on ROS2 by the Fraunhofer IPA. The course was designed to introduce participants to the now established successor of the well-known ROS framework, advancing the development of sophisticated control systems for soft robots. Following this, the Fraunhofer Institute offered a tour for interested parties, covering a wide range of topics from the history of robotics to current research issues. These sessions provided a broad perspective on the evolution of robotic technology and highlighted cutting-edge research areas, from industrial automation to biomedical robots.
