Barry Trimmer

Barry Andrew Trimmer is an English scientist, professor at Tufts University. His research primarily focuses on neurobiology, biomechanics / neuromechanics and soft-bodied locomotion.

Biography

Trimmer received both his B.A. and Ph.D. from Cambridge University, concentrating in neurobiology. Since 2005 he is professor of biology, Henry Bromfield Pearson Professor of Natural Sciences, and director of the Biomimetic Devices Laboratory (BDL) at Tufts University.[1]

Trimmer and his Tufts colleague David L. Kaplan gained international attention in 2007 upon successfully creating the world's first soft-bodied robot. The robot, or SoftBot, is composed of silicone elastomers and resembles a tobacco hornworm, a caterpillar that Trimmer has studied since 1990.[2]

Currently exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York City, Trimmer and Kaplan hope the SoftBot will help "spark revolutions in medicine, the military and even outer-space exploration." Kaplan believes that, among other medical applications, soft-bodied robots could replace tiny cameras that patients swallow to help diagnose diseases.[3]

Footnotes
  1. Barry A. Trimmer, Tufts University: Department of Biology
  2. In the Lab: Robots That Slink and Squirm - New York Times
  3. Tufts science professors produce world's first soft-bodied robot - News Archived March 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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