Soft Robotics and Biodesign Lab

Lab Members



ME website
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Guoying Gu


received the B.E. degree (with honors) in electronic science and technology, and the Ph.D. degree (with honors) in mechatronic engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, in 2006 and 2012, respectively.

Since October 2012, Dr. Gu has worked at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, where he is currently appointed as a Professor of School of Mechanical Engineering. He was a Humboldt Fellow with University of Oldenburg, Germany. He was a Visiting Scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National University of Singapore and Concordia University. His research interests include soft robotics, bioinspired and wearable robots, smart materials sensing, actuation and motion control. He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications, which have appeared in Nature Biomedical Engineering, Science Robotics, Science Advances, Advanced Materials, National Science Review, IEEE/ASME Trans., Advanced Functional Materials, Soft Robotics, etc., as book chapters and in conference proceedings.

Dr. Gu received the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. Now he serves as Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Robotics and IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. He has also served for several journals as Editorial Board Member, Topic Editor, or Guest Editor, and several international conferences/symposiums as Chair, Co-Chair, Associate Editor or Program Committee Member.
ME website
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Jiang Zou


received the B.E. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China, in 2014, and the Ph.D degree in mechanical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, in 2019.

Since 2019, he has worked with Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He is currently an Associate Professor with the School of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests have been focused on design, modeling, and control of dielectric elastomer actuated soft robots. He has authored or co-authored more than 30 publications, which have appeared in Science Robotics, Nature Communications, National Science Review, IEEE/ASME Trans., etc.
ME website
Google Scholar

Ningbin Zhang


received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in mechanical engineering from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China, in 2012 and 2016, respectively. He obtained the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, in 2022.

Since 2022, Dr. Zhang has been with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, where he is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include dexterous robotic hands, bioinspired soft-rigid robots, and AI-enhanced wearables. He is the author of more than 30 academic publications, including Nature Biomedical Engineering, Nature Communications, Science Advances, and Advanced Functional Materials.
Postdoctoral researchers
Jieji Ren
Doctor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2022
Research interests: Camera-based tactile sensor, computer vision, machine learning and their applications to soft robot
PhD students
Yu Rong
Bachelor's degree from Northwestern Polytechnical University
Year joined group: 2019
Research interests: Soft robotics with machine learning
Peinan Yan
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2020
Research interests: Dielectric elastomer actuator and its applications to prosthesis
Dezhi Yang
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2020
Research interests: Soft wearable systems for rehabilitation
Zijian Qin
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2021
Research interests: Dielectric elastomer actuator and haptic device
Xinyu Yang
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2021
Research interests: Design of soft anthropomorphic hand and its application
Jinhao Li
Bachelor's degree from Hunan University
Year joined group: 2021
Research interests: 3D-printing sensors and robots
Rong Bian
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2021
Research interests: Small-scale soft robots and their medical application
Yueshi Dong
Bachelor's degree from Chongqing University
Year joined group: 2022
Research interests: Visual based tactile sensing and dexterous operation of soft hand
Xiaotian Shi
Bachelor's degree from Xi'an Jiaotong University
Year joined group: 2022
Research interests: Dielectric elastomer actuator
Zihao Yuan
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2022
Research interests: Bio-inspired soft robots
Zhenpu Zhu
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2023
Research interests: Cable-driven hyper-redundant robot
Zhanxuan Peng
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2023
Research interests: Cable-driven hyper-redundant robot
Jianing Sun
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2023
Research interests: Fabric-based pneumatic glove for rehabilitation and assistance
Jinnuo Zhang
Bachelor's degree from Xi'an Jiaotong University
Year joined group: 2024
Research interests: Soft wearable robots
Jie Cao
Master's degree from Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University
Year joined group: 2024
Research interests: Dielectric elastomer actuator and its applications
Zhenle Liu
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2025
Research interests: Vision-based tactile sensor (VBTS) and its application
Zihang Chen
Bachelor's degree from Tongji University
Year joined group: 2025
Research interests: Dielectric elastomer actuator
Master’s students
Xingyu Chen
Bachelor's degree from Harbin Institute of Technology
Year joined group: 2023
Research interests: Dynamic modeling and control with deep learning
Shun Yu
Bachelor's degree from Tongji University
Year joined group: 2024
Research interests: DEA devices for humanoid robot
Xuning Gou
Bachelor’s degree from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Year joined group: 2024
Research interests: Modeling and control of DEA platforms
Taoyuan Huang
Bachelor's degree from Xi'an Jiaotong University
Year joined group: 2024
Yexun Wei
Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Year joined group: 2025
Research interests: Design and integration of fabric-based soft exosuits
Yanzhe Zhao
Bachelor's degree from South China University of Technology
Year joined group: 2025
Xiaoou Lin
Bachelor's degree from Shandong University
Year joined group: 2025
Research interests: Advanced control theory and its applications in robots and actuators
Xiangwei Hu
Bachelor's degree from Tongji University
Year joined group: 2025
Research interests: DEA devices and its application
Lab Alumni
Yi Zhao
Year graduated: 2025
Company/Organization: BYD Auto Co., Ltd.
Miao Feng
Year graduated: 2025
Company/Organization: China South Industries Group Corporation.
Bohao Xiao
Year graduated: 2024
Company/Organization: Hesai Technology Co., Ltd.
Zequn Shen
Year graduated: 2024
Company/Organization: Midea Group Co., Ltd.
Xinjia Huang
Year graduated: 2024
Company/Organization: China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.
Ziqing Li
Year graduated: 2024
Company/Organization: Alibaba Group Holding Limited.
Jiangqin Deng
Year graduated: 2024
Company/Organization: CISDI Group Co., Ltd.
Haipeng Xu
Year graduated: 2023
Company/Organization: CISDI Group Co., Ltd.
Peiwei Zhou
Year graduated: 2023
Company/Organization: HUAWEI Technologies Co., Ltd.
Weicheng Huang
Year graduated: 2022
Company/Organization: University of Pennsylvania
Hanghang Wei
Year graduated: 2022
Company/Organization: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
Ningyuan Ding
Year graduated: 2021
Company/Organization: Beijing Sankuai Online Technology Co., Ltd.
Qiwen Shao
Year graduated: 2021
Company/Organization: China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd.
Houle Yang
Year graduated: 2021
Company/Organization: Beijing Bytedance Technology Co., Ltd.
Lisen Ge
Year graduated: 2020
Company/Organization: Beijing Sankuai Online Technology Co., Ltd.
Yifan Zhang
Year graduated: 2020
Company/Organization: Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin
Yichi Luo
Year graduated: 2020
Company/Organization: Carnegie Mellon University
Lei Tang
Year graduated: 2019
Company/Organization: HUAWEI Technologies Co., Ltd.
Xiangyu Peng
Year graduated: 2019
Company/Organization: University of Michigan
Ling Li
Year graduated: 2019
Company/Organization: HUAWEI Technologies Co., Ltd.
Shujun Wei
Year graduated: 2018
Company/Organization: HUAWEI Technologies Co., Ltd.
Longteng Dong
Year graduated: 2018
Company/Organization: AECC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co., Ltd.
Jincheng Ge
Year graduated: 2018
Company/Organization: HUAWEI Technologies Co., Ltd.
Jungang Wang
Year graduated: 2017
Company/Organization: HUAWEI Technologies Co., Ltd.
Undergraduate students
Fengjie Shen Zheng Zong