Robotic Specimen Preparation: Towards Soil Mechanics 2.0?

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• Prof. Hans Henning Stutz
• Tuesday 04 November 2025, 17:00-18:00
• Conference Room, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering Building, 7a JJ Thompson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FA.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Nicolas Lee.

After an initial overview of current research at the Institute of Soil Mechanics and Rock Mechanics, the topic of robotic specimen generation is introduced. Recent advances in experimental geomechanics that mark a shift towards what may be called Soil Mechanics 2.0 are presented. Using the Robotic Automated Specimen Preparation (RASP) system developed at KIT as a central example, the talk illustrates how robotics can fundamentally enhance reproducibility, precision, and data quality in laboratory soil testing. These developments enable new ways of exploring constitutive behaviour at different scales of laboratory and physical model testing under controlled boundary conditions. Beyond automation, the presentation discusses if and how such systems can contribute to a more data-rich and continuously learning discipline. The talk will serve as a primer for further discussion on whether such methods can push the boundaries of current experimental geomechanics.

Hans Henning Stutz is Full Professor and Director of the Institute of Soil Mechanics and Rock Mechanics at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. His research focuses on advanced experimental geomechanics, constitutive modelling, and soil–structure interaction, with applications in energy geotechnics and bio-inspired design. Before joining KIT , he was Assistant Professor at Aarhus University, Denmark, and held research positions at Kiel University and Bauhaus University Weimar. He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and serves as reviewer for leading journals. His current projects include developments in geotechnical gravitational energy storage, robotic specimen preparation, constitutive modelling besides large-scale laboratory soil testing.

This talk is part of the Cambridge University Geotechnical Society (CUGS) - Seminar Series series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge University Geotechnical Society (CUGS) - Seminar Series
• Conference Room, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering Building, 7a JJ Thompson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FA

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