Lining Yao

Human Computer Interaction (Switzerland), Carnegie Mellon University

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About

Lining Yao is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of soft robotics, smart materials, and human-computer interaction, whose work focuses on developing novel actuators and reconfigurable systems that bridge the physical and digital worlds. Yao's research explores how advanced fabrication techniques — including 3D printing with functional materials — can produce soft, responsive, and intelligent structures capable of complex, dynamic behavior. Among Yao's notable contributions is the development of highly dynamic bistable soft actuators that combine 3D-printed soft materials with shape memory alloys, enabling rapid, robust motion for next-generation reconfigurable soft robots. This work, co-developed with collaborators including Carmel Majidi and Xiaonan Huang, demonstrates the potential for soft robotic systems to achieve fast, reliable actuation across multiple modes. Equally inventive is Yao's "Printed Paper Actuator," a low-cost, reversible approach to electrical actuation and sensing achieved simply by printing conductive PLA onto ordinary copy paper — democratizing access to smart material technology. Though Yao's cited works are still accumulating recognition, their creative fusion of accessible fabrication methods with sophisticated material science positions them as an emerging and influential voice in the soft robotics and programmable matter communities, with clear implications for wearable technology, biomedical devices, and interactive systems.