News – Soft and Micro Robotics Laboratory

2019

New research: Controlled flight of a microrobot powered by soft artificial muscles” is published in Nature

We have developed the first heavier-than-air aerial robot powered by dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) and demonstrated controlled hovering flight. Each robot module weighs 160 mg, and flaps at approximately 300 Hz to generate sufficient lift forces. The full paper can be accessed through Nature’s web page:

Controlled flight of a microrobot powered by soft artificial muscles

Selected media coverage can be found here: RoboBee powered by soft muscles

Full day workshop: Marine bio-inspired soft robotics

I am co-organizing a workshop titled “Marine Bio-inspired Soft Robotics” with Prof. Li Wen (Beihang University), Prof. Marcello Calisti (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna) and Prof. Hannah Stuart (UC Berkeley). It will consist of invited talks and panel discussions on topics including underwater adhesion, swimming, multimodal locomotion, manipulation, etc. Visit our web page for more information:

Invited talk: Insect-scale robots: functions and future applications

In a 5-minutes talk at the MIT media lab, I briefly introduced the functions and potential applications of insect-scale robots.

2018

I am honored to be selected on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, in the category of Science. For more information, please check out the link below:

Forbes 30 Under 30, Science category

Forbes: Bite-Sized Robots Could Transform Natural Disaster Search And Rescue

Reuters: Robotic cockroach can walk on land and swim underwater

BBC News: Could a robotic cockroach aid rescues?

Harvard SEAS: Next-generation robotic cockroach can explore underwater environments