Compliant mechanisms are flexible machines that bend and deform to achieve a desired task. Examples include origami, soft robots, precision flexure bearings, flexible medical devices, and most microelectromechanical (MEMS) systems.

This video provides an introductory overview for a multi-part mechanical engineering course taught by Professor Jonathan Hopkins at UCLA about how to design compliant mechanisms. This course will cover the most popular approaches used to design and fabricate such mechanisms but will primarily focus on an approach Professor Hopkins created while a graduate student at MIT called the freedom and constraint topologies (FACT) design approach.

Additional course resources are posted to Professor Hopkins’ website: www.flexible.seas.ucla.edu

Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to my brother Jason Hopkins for his help animating my channel’s logo reveal. Also special thanks to Blaine Arihara for allowing me to use the video of his metal flexure stage. Finally, I am grateful to Boston Dynamics for allowing the public to reuse the amazing Atlas Robot footage! The video was taken from the following YouTube videos, which are all listed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (Reuse Allowed):    • Video      • OMG Boston Dynamics Atlas Robot Does ...      • Video      • Atlas back flip  

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Disclaimer:
Responsibility for the content of this video is my own. The University of California, Los Angeles is not involved with this channel nor does it endorse its content.