The boundaries between fabric and machine are rapidly dissolving. There’s a growing synergy between the fields of textiles and soft robotics. As researchers increasingly collaborate across these domains, innovative materials and systems are emerging that sense, respond, and adapt—reshaping our approach to design for robotics. Textiles provide the softness, compliance, and scalability that soft robotics has long sought, while soft robotic principles introduce actuation, control, and embodied intelligence to the textile domain. When these worlds converge, fabrics evolve into active, programmable systems capable of motion, perception, and interaction.
This workshop explores this convergence by uniting researchers in soft robotics, textile engineering, and materials science to discuss how advances in textile-based sensing, actuation, and fabrication can enable next-generation soft robotic systems. Invited talks from leaders across these fields will highlight emerging opportunities in materials, fabrication, and device design.
Interactive components, including hands-on activities, demo sessions, and poster presentations with lightning talks and awards, will give participants the opportunity to experience textile-based actuation and sensing firsthand, such as knitting pneumatic actuators or understanding how textile structure can tune both mechanics and sensing response. These interactive, participant-forward activities will encourage cross-disciplinary dialogue as participants work together and discuss, helping identify shared challenges and spark new collaboration
By combining the broad design tunability of textiles with functional principles of soft robotics, this workshop will inspire new approaches to creating adaptive, human-centered robotic materials. Join us to weave together ideas that will shape the next generation of soft robotic systems.
Radek Soukup
Associate Professor at University of West Bohemia
Radek Soukup heads the Smart Textiles Group at the University of West Bohemia (UWB), Pilsen. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 2009, complemented by research at the Technical University of Denmark and Brunel University London, as well as industrial experience at Siemens VDO and Continental.
His research focuses on transitioning smart textiles and printed electronics from the laboratory to industrial applications. He has led 8 national and 5 international applied research projects, including the award-winning EURIPIDES EUREKA project “ADVANTEX” and the FP7 “Smart@fire” project, where he coordinated the development of next-generation firefighter protective gear. Currently, he is leading a prestigious project with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop advanced e-textile systems for astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).
Dr. Soukup holds 8 patents, 20 utility models, and has developed over 38 prototypes. Bridging academia and industry, he has played a pivotal role in the commercial launch of hybrid conductive threads, smart firefighter suits, and protective gloves.
Connor McCann
Assistant Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Connor McCann is an Assistant Professor in the Robotics Engineering department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His research focuses on hybrid-stiffness mechanisms at the intersection of rigid and soft robotics. He is interested in the underlying mechanics that govern the non-trivial interactions between rigid and soft materials, and how these interactions can enable advanced, highly functional behavior in robots. This work has spanned a number of different application areas, including robotic grasping/hand design, dexterous within-hand manipulation, computational modeling of soft materials, textile material mechanics, and assistive wearable robots.
Prior to joining WPI, he received his Ph.D. and M.S. from Harvard University and his B.S. from Yale University, all in mechanical engineering.
Emmi Pouta
Postdoc at Aalto University
Biosketch
Matteo Lo Preti
Postdoc at National University of Singapore
Matteo Lo Preti is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Soft Robotics Lab (NUS). He completed his Ph.D. in BioRobotics at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and the Soft BioRobotics Perception Lab of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in 2023. He obtained his B.Sc. degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Pisa in 2017, followed by an M.Sc. degree in Bionics Engineering cum laude from the University of Pisa jointly with Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in 2019. His research focused on soft tactile sensing technologies for tactile-driven intelligent systems.
The workshop will feature invited talks by experts, posters and demos from students and postdocs, and hands-on activities. The workshop will also provide a platform for participants to share their expertise and experiences, and to identify opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing.
A unique feature of this workshop is its hands-on activities held in the afternoon. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about fundamental techniques and principles in advanced textiles research and gain practical experience in employing them through designing and building devices.
| Time | Activity/Talk | Speaker/Coordinator |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:10 | Kickoff | Organizers |
| 09:10 – 09:35 | Towards Industrial-Grade Textile-Based Soft Robotics: Utilization of Hybrid Yarns, Advanced Interconnection, and E-Textile Technologies | Radek Soukup |
| 09:35 – 10:00 | Textile Soft Robots in Silico: Why are textile mechanics so dang hard to model? | Connor McCann |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Morning Coffee Break – Demos and Posters | |
| 10:30 – 10:55 | Invited Talk 3 | Invited Speaker 3 |
| 10:55 – 11:20 | Why do Soft Sensors have a hard time fitting in? From Characterization to Comparability | Matteo Lo Preti |
| 11:20 – 12:00 | Lightning talks by Poster and Demo Participants | |
| 12:00 – 13:30 | Lunch – Demos and Posters | |
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Afternoon Keynote | Keynote Speaker |
| 14:00 – 14:15 | Hands-on Activity Kickoff | Organizers |
| 14:15 – 15:00 | Hands-on Activities Session 1 | |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Afternoon Coffee Break – Demos and Posters | |
| 15:30 – 16:45 | Hands-on Activities Session 2 | |
| 16:45 – 17:00 | Award announcements and closing remarks |
To be announced
We invite you to participate and to submit an extended abstract before March 11th, 2026 by filling this Registration Form (TBA)!
Further, we also give out awards for the best contribution!
Topics of interests include, but are not limited to:
We look forward to your submissions, and to a fruitful exchange during the workshop! Hopefully see you in Kanazawa!
