Semi-Plenary Lecture 4

Room: E214
Time: Wednesday, 30. September 2026, 9:40 - 10:20
Chair: Daniil Yurchenko

Maíra Martins da Silva

Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, São Carlos School of Engineering, Brazil

Advancing Robotics: Multiphysics Simulation, Control Systems, and Machine Learning Integration

Robotic systems are increasingly required to operate with reduced mass, higher efficiency, and greater autonomy while interacting with complex, dynamic environments. These requirements inevitably introduce flexibility, strong multiphysics couplings, and sensing and control challenges that cannot be addressed by rigid-body models alone. This talk presents recent advances in robotic system design and control that integrate multiphysics modeling, advanced control strategies, and data-driven perception.

The first part focuses on lightweight parallel manipulators with flexible links, where inertia reduction improves energy efficiency but induces structural vibrations. A dual-loop control architecture is discussed, combining vision-based feedback for rigid-body motion with vibration attenuation strategies based on both model-based (LQG) and model-free, strain-informed approaches. The results demonstrate how multimodal sensing and hybrid control architectures can effectively mitigate flexibility-induced performance degradation.

The second part addresses bioinspired aquatic robotics, presenting a flexible, fish-like robotic platform actuated by smart materials. A dynamic model derived from Kirchhoff’s equations captures the coupled structural and propulsion dynamics, enabling motion planning and maneuverability analysis through optimal control formulations. This case study illustrates how bioinspired design, flexible dynamics, and optimization-based control can be systematically integrated.

Overall, the talk highlights a unifying perspective on robotics, where multiphysics simulation, control theory, and learning-enabled perception jointly support robust, efficient, and adaptive robotic systems.

Short Bio

Maíra Martins da Silva is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the São Carlos School of Engineering (EESC-USP). She holds a bachelor’s degree (2001) and a master’s degree (2004) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of São Paulo (EESC-USP). She obtained her doctorate (2009) in Mechanical Engineering at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. In 2010, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Prod. Engineering Department. Mechanics at EESC-USP. She has coordinated the Coordinating Committee of the Mechatronics Engineering Course at EESC-USP for four years. She is the current president of the Inclusion and Belonging Committee at EESC-USP. Currently, she coordinates a FAPESP project on bioinspired robotic systems and collaborates in a ROTA2030 project about electric vehicles. She is an associate editor of Expert System with Applications and Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence. She has experience in Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, working mainly on the following topics: development of mechatronic products, multiphysics simulation, control of robotic systems, optimization, and machine learning techniques.