Wiktoria Kruk is the VP of Design at Clone, a robotics company using nature's principles to create intuitive, aesthetically appealing, and hopefully highly functional robot designs. This form of biomimicry serves as a blueprint to prove that the best technologies are based on principles from nature, highlighting the fundamental importance of both the wonders of the natural world and the originality of man-made designs that are themselves creations of nature.
Soft Robotics: An Emerging Field Influenced by Biomimicry
Biomimicry is rising in prominence in robot design because the ability to replicate human nature is essential for well-made soft robots.
Wiktoria Kruk specializes in creating musculoskeletal androids that replicate human movement and flexibility. Her fascination with biomimicry was born from her twelve years in fine arts. She credits her abstract thinking to this, with many of her interdisciplinary art projects often revolving around the nature of collaboration—something that is vital to human nature and, therefore, important for developing human-like robotics.
"My passion for breaking down complex systems, identifying problems, and finding elegant solutions led me naturally into Clone, a company dedicated to creating synthetic humans designed fully on the base of nature creation," she explains. Clone is blending the functionality of technology with the creativity of the arts. Wiktoria's expertise in abstract thinking and research on the intersection of nature and collaboration fuels her passion for working on such complex yet rewarding projects.
Problems in Soft Robotics That the Clone Team Addresses
Traditional robotics often struggle with rigid, non-adaptable systems that don't naturally integrate into human environments. Wiktoria and her team tackle the challenge of making robots more human-like, both in movement and interaction, by applying the principles of nature.
"We integrate abstract thinking with engineering to create intuitive, user-centered robotic systems," she notes. Creating robotics goes beyond function or simple looks—it's about the interaction between the robots' movements and actions.
By using a multidisciplinary approach, Wiktoria and her team build aesthetically pleasing and functionally optimized robots. The robot currently in development at Clone has a soft body that integrates seamlessly with a human environment, blending effortlessly into our daily lives instead of jarring, unnatural machines.
"It's always fascinating to observe new iterations in the lab, as its movements captivatingly mirror life itself," says Wiktoria. Seeing a human-like robot is inherently fascinating, even to its creators. The ultimate test will be how people interact with the robots after they are released onto the market. Will they induce positive or negative emotions? If people react neutrally, was the project successful?
Wiktoria's Role and Achievements
Wiktoria's team at Clone integrates artistry with engineering rigor to produce functional robots that inspire.
"Creative minds can overcome any challenge. The impact of these collaborations is evident in the innovative biomimetic systems we develop."
She is proud to collaborate with talented artists, engineers, investors, and researchers at Clone. Her designs are impossible without their effort and expertise. One of Wiktoria's most significant contributions to the field is the development of a biomimetic robot with a soft body that adapts to human interaction. The incredible technology reflects Wiktoria's expertise in material sensitivity and design. Robots without human-like materials are bound to cause more friction than those made with care and detail for a human feel.
Human designs are complicated because when one part stops working, the whole system becomes impaired. "This is precisely how we learn to collaborate with one another; we have to work as one organism. In the team, we inspire each other by researching how nature-trust principles can drive technological innovation," she concludes.
How Clone and Wiktoria Solve Human Complexities
Clone is working hard to create robots with organically shaped bones, ligaments, and muscles, drawing on the natural human anatomy. Wiktoria and her team are attempting to simplify these complexities and turn them into a manageable yet robust robotic system.
Simplifying the intricacies of microscopic fibers complex structures that make up connective tissue is not an easy task. Soft tissue structures have evolved over billions of years, yet the designers at Clone are engineering them in less than a lifetime. The human body is a masterpiece of natural engineering, and translating that complexity into an efficient, synthetic form while maintaining functionality is very difficult.
Wiktoria finds the work challenging but incredibly rewarding. Her philosophy is rooted in simplification. By engaging directly with the design process, she and her team are guided by the materials, gradually refining their approach by simplifying what they observe, which can be incredibly time-consuming. This hands-on approach has ensured that the challenges posed by designing soft robots are tackled with intuitive and practical solutions.
Impact of Biomimicry on Robotics
Wiktoria makes sure that these robots have functional capabilities designed to mirror life and, more importantly, blend smoothly into human environments, making them key players in future technological ecosystems.
Łukasz Koźlik, who initiated the project, outlined this philosophy for the company's mechanical aspect. Their approach entrusts evolution's working example: every human who has ever lived. The great advantage of the product is that its mechanics are based on designs already proven to function. Wiktoria says if the project succeeds, it will be the "most intuitive, elegant, and beautiful robot in the world because it is created based on the principles of nature."
Wiktoria's Future Vision
Wiktoria hopes to continue studying the intricacies of natural systems that offer sustainable designs. By combining this approach with design principles, in the future, Wiktoria aims to solve many common problems, including those of energy efficiency, the environmental impact of humans, and even those seen in healthcare with robotics and biomimicry.
Wiktoria will continue to focus on collaboration to ignite change in nature-based technologies.
