Step into an experimental field at the intersection of origami, textile design, architecture, and robotics!

At Adaptér’s Soft Robotics course, we will create air-powered digital circuits and artificial muscles, combining them with a flexible structure to build our own soft robot. The course also includes a lecture introducing the theory of soft robotics and metamaterials. This theoretical foundation offers a starting point for exploring possible developments involving programmable systems that require minimal materials and equipment.

The workshops are primarily hands-on and DIY-focused: we will build models that you can further develop at home, without the need for specialised tools or workshops, using affordable and accessible materials.

Instead of servomotors and electrical power supplies, soft robotics uses flexible geometries through which air or water can flow—similar to the movement of insect wings or the human circulatory system. These systems can interact well with the human body and tolerate environmental influences, while operating without software. The individual components can be made without requiring any particular technical or crafting skills.

Workshop 1
We will get to know the model that we will assemble or transform throughout the course, and we will create pneumatic muscles.

Workshop 2
We will build air-powered digital logic gates, accompanied by a short introduction to physical computing.

Workshop 3
We will assemble the structural framework of our robot and bring it to life through movement.

At the end of the three workshop sessions, everyone will be able to take home the objects and models they have created. The materials from the theoretical lectures will also be available online.

Dates: November 17, November 24, and December 1, 17:30–20:30
Location: Adaptér, 10 Bercsényi Street, Budapest

The workshop will be led by Boldizsár Hordós, graphic artist and lecturer at the University of Fine Arts.