Interview with Carmel Majidi, researcher of ‘artificial skin’

EE alumnus Carmel Majidi (M.S. ’04/Ph.D. ’07, adviser: Ron Fearing), now an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon,  is the subject of a SiliconRepublic interview titled “Scientific research is not the only way to discover new technologies.”  Majidi is attempting to create ‘artificial’ skin and soft machines inspired by the natural world. “I’m interested in building machines and robots that match the extraordinary ability of natural organisms to change shape, adapt their functionality and recover from damage. This has led me to work on new types of materials that allow sensors, electronics and actuators to share the same properties as natural skin, nervous tissue and muscle.” he says.