Many robots can move well either on land or underwater. The harder problem is moving between these worlds. This workshop looks at how to build and control soft robots that can travel across land, the water surface, and the seafloor, while causing as little disturbance as possible to fragile environments.
What we’ll cover
- Smart design and materials that can change shape, stiffness, and floatation when the robot moves into a new environment
- Transition between environments and surface features - missing links?
- Gentle ways to move in water, using fins, flexible bodies, and other low-wake propulsion methods
- Control and sensing that help robots stay stable while switching from one mode to another (walking ↔ swimming ↔ crawling)
Workshop format
- Short invited talks from researchers working on land, underwater, and amphibious robots
- Poster Teasers, Presentation and Robot Demos
- A panel discussion focused on a practical question: “What usually fails during transitions, and why?”
- An interactive design sprint, where participants Ideate, sketch and present new robot concepts with mentors and expert groups
Key challenges we’ll connect across topics
- Changing body shape and stiffness for different environments
- Managing grip and drag when crossing the land–water boundary
- Moving efficiently without disturbing the environment or habitat
- Keeping robots reliable: sealing, float control, and protected power/electronics
- Using simple, robust control strategies that adapt during mode changes
Objectives
- Give a clear snapshot of where the field is today—especially the parts that matter for transitions
- Share practical design ideas for shape-change, surface crossing, gentle propulsion, sealing, and float control
- Support students and early-career researchers through a guided poster walk, design sprint, and short pitches
- Start new collaborations and propose a shared test method to compare how well robots transition and how much they disturb the environment
