Kaushik Jayaram

Tiny robot team could be a gamechanger for safety inspections

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 21 May 2025 15:29:25 +0000

Tiny robot team could be a gamechanger for safety inspections Alexander Jame… Wed, 05/21/2025 - 09:29

Alexander Servantez

One slithers. One crawls. Neither looks like much on their own. But together, they form a super team—one that might just change how we inspect the most complicated machines in the world.

Kaushik Jayaram, an assistant professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder, is working to build the next generation of robot inspection tools by studying some of nature’s simplest creatures.

This robotic duo is about as odd as it is ingenious: tiny, insect-inspired robots paired with inflatable vine-like robots that grow like plants and curl like snakes. These high-tech helpers can navigate a complex maze of machinery and squeeze through the tightest of spaces—like the guts of a jet engine—to potentially perform non-destructive evaluation faster, cheaper and better than ever before.

The tiny mCLARI robot, developed by Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram and his team in the Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics Laboratory.

“If you look at the infrastructure around us, there are a lot of buildings, bridges, dams and machines that have all of these little nooks and crannies,” said Jayaram, who is also affiliated with the BioFrontiers Institute, the Biomedical Engineering Program, the Robotics Program and the Materials Science and Engineering Program. “They need very careful, regular inspection and maintenance, but there’s just no easy, cost-effective way to get in.”

Jayaram said there is also an element of public safety involved. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, nearly 15% of aviation accidents are caused by mechanical malfunction.

In just this year alone, the National Transportation Safety Board has reported 94 aviation accidents, 13 of which have been identified as fatal incidents.

“When it comes to tasks such as flying, where human safety is paramount, we need aircraft technology and machinery to work 100% of the time,” Jayaram said. “Our research is one of the efforts to address these concerns using the advantages of robotics.”

The work, in collaboration with Laura Blumenschein at Purdue University, has drawn interest from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. They’ve awarded the two researchers a three-year, $1.4 million grant to prove these small robots can work together to produce big results.

But as unlikely as this robotic team might seem, Jayaram believes they have the perfect blend of “offense” and “defense” to get these dirty and delicate jobs done.

First on the roster is Jayaram’s mCLARI microrobot. This tiny machine—weighing in at less than a gram—can climb, squeeze through cracks the size of a penny and move with a millimeter precision.

However, due to its small stature, it struggles to carry any extra weight. Large batteries and electronics are incompatible with the little robot, and without them it cannot travel long distances or maneuver tight spaces effectively.

The inflatable vine-like robot, developed by Laura Blumenschein, an assistant professor at Purdue University.

That’s where its vine-like teammate comes in. This robot can inflate like a party favor, allowing it to carry more weight and conform to the environment. In Jayaram’s vision, the inflatable snake can act as mCLARI’s personal Uber driver, negotiating constraints of tight spaces and dropping the tiny robot directly at the site of inspection.

Once in location, Jayaram said the mCLARI robot, fitted with cameras and miniature evaluation sensors, can gather and transmit real-time data for offline analysis. When it’s done, it can hop right back on the snake-like robot and the team can make the winding journey back home, saving hours of evaluation time and thousands of dollars in service costs in the process.

“Each of the robotic systems have their own pros and cons,” said Jayaram. “By combining the strengths of these two robots, we’re overcoming the disadvantages to create a single collaborative system that can give us quick insight into these compact and confined spaces.”

But this tiny squad of robots is capable of much more than just inspection. In fact, Jayaram dreams of a day where his insect and vine-inspired robotic friends can be deployed in a variety of scenarios where being small, agile and adaptive are a premium.

Maybe one day this robotic team can play a vital role in environmental monitoring to detect high-risk wildfire zones and prevent ecological damage. Or maybe they can be used in disaster response situations—like a collapsed building—to help save human lives.

Jayaram said the possibilities are truly endless.

“These small, confined crevices and spaces are actually way more ubiquitous than we originally thought. Even in the medical arena—if we shrink these robots even further, make them shapeshift, and use biocompatible materials, maybe our technology can one day be crawling inside our bodies, detecting and releasing blood clots or taking measurements just like a pill,” Jayaram said. “We get very excited when we think about the future. If we can build systems that can effectively navigate the world and combine them with sensors, we can do a lot.”

Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram, in collaboration with Laura Blumenschein, has received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a tiny robot super team capable of navigating a complex maze of machinery and squeeze through the tightest of spaces—like the guts of a jet engine—to potentially perform non-destructive evaluation faster, cheaper and better than ever before.

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CU Engineering announces inaugural Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellows

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 16:24:06 +0000

CU Engineering announces inaugural Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellows Alexander Jame… Fri, 02/14/2025 - 09:24

CU Engineering has named the inaugural recipients of its Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellows program, which supports faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students in bringing research to market. The fellows, selected for their work in fields like robotics, biomedical devices and advanced materials, receive funding, mentorship and entrepreneurial support to accelerate commercialization.

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ME Course Column: Bio-inspired Robotics

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 16:19:38 +0000

ME Course Column: Bio-inspired Robotics Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/25/2022 - 09:19

Rachel Leuthauser

The ME Course Column is a recurring publication about the unique classes and labs that mechanical engineers can take while at the ��Ƶ. Follow the series to understand the core curriculum, discover elective course options and learn the broad applications of mechanical engineering skills.

Bio-inspired robotics is the interface of biology and engineering – motivating the development of technology from artificial muscles and medical devices to gecko-inspired adhesives and robots that run, fly and swim.

Professor Kaushik Jayaram

Header image: Students remodeled CAD hand using bio-inspired robotics.

The field focuses on solving technical problems with designs inspired by nature – going beyond the idea of simply copying existing biological solutions.

MCEN 4228/5228: Bio-inspired Robotics introduces engineers to this area of study. Taught by Professor Kaushik Jayaram, the course compels students to develop useful solutions for societal issues by combining mechanisms in biological solutions with best human practices. Students learn to translate the principles of function, performance and aesthetics from biology to human technology.

“At a very high level, this course is about understanding the philosophy of what bio-inspired engineering is,” Jayaram said. “Since this is a fundamentally interdisciplinary field, we cannot do bio-inspiration in isolation.”

Jayaram introduces students to a series of projects and case studies to understand successful approaches to bio-inspired robotics. One of the projects involves students modifying 3D-printed hands with biological inspirations from an animal of their choice.

“Basically, they start off with a CAD model and then add to it,” Jayaram said. “For example, koalas have six fingers – two thumbs on each hand. Some groups get inspiration from that and find their model is better at gripping."

Bio-inspired Robotics culminates in students designing and building their own bio-inspired devices. They start by identifying a novel biological discovery that can be translated to an application for technology.

Students have developed ideas to advance robotic locomotion. They have channeled biological solutions like webbed feet and fins for better movement in water or wings for maximum energy motion in flight.

Other projects have resulted in algorithms and simulated software inspired by how rats use their sense of touch and smell to navigate complex mazes. Another group looked at the surface of leaves and their condensation abilities to build a water filter for desert areas.

CAD hand remodeled with fingers oriented in different directions for flexible gripping.

“There is a wide range of examples from animals to plants and in both hardware and software,” Jayaram said. “Somebody who is working in this field needs to have a strong understanding of biology, a strong understanding of different kinds of engineering and potentially have an understanding about art, ethics and society.”

While the inventive and technical processes of Bio-inspired Robotics prepare students to enter a variety of engineering fields, the creative and insightful aspects also strengthen their prospects in entrepreneurship.

Jayaram wants to eventually open the course to students outside of science fields because of the interdisciplinary nature of bio-inspired engineering. This would mean including students with diverse backgrounds such as business, humanities and the arts.

Bio-inspired Engineering is currently open to juniors, seniors and graduate students in mechanical and biomedical engineering, as well as those studying engineering management.

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Science documentary series "Evolve" features Jayaram's research

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 17:38:05 +0000

Science documentary series "Evolve" features Jayaram's research Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 02/15/2022 - 10:38

Rachel Leuthauser

Above: Professor Kaushik Jayaram
Header image: HAMR-Jr robot developed by Jayaram's research group.

A new science documentary series looks at how nature can help humanity solve some of the world’s biggest problems, and one of the episodes features a Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering professor.

Professor Kaushik Jayaram shared his research on bio-inspired robotics with biologist Patrick Aryee on the CuriosityStream series titled “Evolve.” In the show, Jayaram brings Aryee inside his Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics Laboratory (AIM-RL) at the ��Ƶ to see the robots his research group has developed based on nature’s greatest survivors – cockroaches.

The robots’ designs are inspired by different aspects of cockroaches’ biology such as their leg or body morphology and their miniature size. One of the robots Jayaram showed Aryee, named HAMR-Jr, is the size of a penny. Jayaram also said he hopes to add wings to future robots, allowing them to either fly or crawl on land.

“There’s a lot of potential to do good with robots interacting with humans,” Jayaram said in the show. “Some of the key directions where we’re thinking these robots can be influential are obviously things like search and rescue.”

Such cockroach-inspired robots could help save lives in the future. In a collapsed building scenario, the robots can move through and over terrain like insects. They are small enough to squeeze into places that first responders cannot reach, allowing search and rescue to find victims faster.

“The time critical nature of trying to find survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake, for example, imagine having these, hundreds of these [robots],” Aryee said. “Being able to just send them out in a potentially really dangerous environment for those first responders and be able to locate exactly where those victims are. That would be so cool.”

These robotic devices could also help society with inspection and maintenance, personal assistance and environmental monitoring.

Other episodes in “Evolve” look how nature – from mushrooms to beetles to giraffes and squids – can inspire technologies for medicine, protection, transportation and climate change mitigation.

“Evolve” premiered on CuriosityStream on Jan. 27. CuriosityStream is a subscription-based service.

The new show looks at how animals can help humanity solve some of the world's biggest problems, which leads biologists to Professor Kaushik Jayaram. His research group is developing robots inspired by one of nature's greatest survivors – cockroaches.

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Video: Kaushik Jayaram on Bio-Inspired Engineering

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:36:32 +0000

Video: Kaushik Jayaram on Bio-Inspired Engineering Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/27/2021 - 14:36

Inspired by the natural world, Kaushik Jayaram heads up the Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics Laboratory (AIM-RL) at CU Boulder. The group aims to develop robotic devices that benefit and enhance human capabilities in the areas of search and rescue, inspection and maintenance, personal assistance, and environmental monitoring. As an assistant professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jayaram's work is highly interdisciplinary, working at the crossroads of engineering, biomimicry and design.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzoDqWKOXxo]

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Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer available to college in fall

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 14:29:30 +0000

Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer available to college in fall Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/04/2020 - 08:29

Researchers in the college will soon have access to a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer testing platform. With it, they can perform mechanical load and displacement tests of materials, devices and components that were not possible previously.

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Return to Research: Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics Lab hits the ground running

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 13:29:28 +0000

Return to Research: Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics Lab hits the ground running Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/30/2020 - 07:29

Oksana Schuppan

For approximately three months, many researchers in the College of Engineering and Applied Science have been working remotely. Now, they are gradually and safely returning to campus to continue their work in the lab. While away, researchers said they adapted quickly and overcame unique challenges, and as they return, they look forward to claiming a new normal in their labs and moving forward in their research.

Above: Graduate student Parker McDonnell conducts research in the Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics Laboratory. (PC: Glenn Asakawa)
Top: Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram and Parker McDonnell work in the lab after returning to campus in June 2020. (PC: Glenn Asakawa)

Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram’s research combines biology and robotics to uncover principles of robustness that make animals successful at locomotion in natural environments. He and his lab, the Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics Laboratory, study small animals like cockroaches and how they handle occurrences such as head-on collisions, body deformations and partial or complete amputations to learn how these principles might be successfully integrated in small robots. He and his group are working on expanding the capabilities of these robots by developing novel actuators, sensors and bioinspired appendages.

Graduate student Parker McDonnell works alongside Jayaram. Below, McDonnell shares about their return to research.

How many people are currently back to work in your lab? What’s the general mood about returning?

Two: myself and Professor Jayaram. We are both excited to get back to work on research this summer, especially while things are quiet on campus.

How is your lab restarting research after two months away? What are your priorities now? How have they shifted?

We are in a unique situation since our lab is quite new, and for the most part, the current students are new hires, including myself. Most students weren't planning to arrive until the fall anyway, and for me, I'm lucky that most of my design work can be done remotely; it's only in the last week or so that I've needed to be on campus to do work!

Our top priority right now is to recreate the cutting-edge solutions in microrobotics from Professor Jayaram's previous research and other current literature in-house, and in addition, to improve these designs using the newly acquired state-of-the-art tools we have at CU Boulder. This will give our new lab the opportunity to build confidence by establishing a baseline for our methodology before we begin to advance the field forward. By the end of the year, we hope to have a novel spider-inspired autonomous crawling robot that can be used to run experiments and demo to our potential collaborators.

Live spiders housed in aquariums in the Animal Inspired Movement and Robotics Laboratory. When campus closed, graduate student Kristen Such took the spiders home to care for them.

What changes, postponements or issues did you face in your research?

The biggest issues were centered on receiving orders and communicating with lab members. We had a laser system that was stuck in customs for months due to COVID-19, and we just received it a few days ago. On the communication side of things, Zoom, Slack, and email have been critical for the team to stay in touch and keep progress moving forward. I can't imagine trying to keep in touch during a pandemic without the internet.

As I mentioned previously, a lot of my design work and lab equipment procurement could be done remotely on a computer as no one was working in the lab.

What precautions are you taking to stay safe?

In addition to wearing masks and regularly cleaning surfaces, we are limited to only two people in our lab area. Going forward, it will typically be me in the lab, and Professor Jayaram will stop by from time to time.

What are the biggest challenges as you restart? How will you address them?

We were fortunate enough to already be in a reset state at the end of the semester as old students left and new students joined the lab. COVID-19 isn't causing issues for us now, but if facilities don't open up fully in the fall, we will start to see more of an impact on our work as access to equipment and interaction with team members may become limited. In this scenario, Zoom, Slack and other platforms will be critical in keeping everyone up-to-date. Furthermore, bringing certain lab items home to aid in remote work could be another tactic to speed up research.

Have you noticed any “silver linings” to your time away from campus?

I think everyone agrees, it’s nice being able to make lunch at home every day, rather than sticking something in the microwave at work! Also, it's easy (for me at least) to stay focused on a task at hand, when there isn't as much activity going on around me. Plus, I'm able to take better care of myself during the day, be it going for a quick run before lunch or stepping outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

CU Boulder is in the midst of a phased return to on-campus research and creative work in summer 2020. In this series, CU Engineering researchers share tips, tricks and takeaways as they navigate a new approach to research prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

CU Boulder researchers are gradually and safely returning to campus to continue their work in the lab. Read about Assistant Professor Kaushik Jayaram and graduate student Parker McDonnell's return to research.

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