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Presented by Dr. Gina Olson, Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Soft Machines Lab, Carnegie Mellon University Soft robots use geometric and material deformation to absorb impacts, mimic natural motions, mechanically adapt to motion or unevenness and to store and reuse energy. Soft robots, by virtue of these traits, offer potential for robots that grasp robustly, adapt to unstructured environments and work safely alongside, or are even worn by, humans. However, compliance breaks many of the assumptions underpinning traditional approaches to robot design, dynamics, control, sensing and planning, and new or modified approaches are required. During this talk, I will introduce the concept of soft robots as soft structures, with capabilities and behaviors derived from the type and organization of their active and passive elements. I will present my current and prior work on the development and analysis of soft robotic structures, with a particular focus on the mechanics of soft arms. I will show how structure and mechanics affect concepts critical to robotics, such as workspace size and planning techniques. Finally, I will conclude the talk with my plans for future research, which focus on critical challenges that must be addressed to realize field-deployable soft robots.