Yufei Hao

About

Yufei Hao is a pioneering robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of soft robotics, smart materials, and bio-inspired engineering. With a research portfolio accumulating over 1,100 citations, Hao has established himself as a leading voice in the design and application of soft robotic systems for complex, real-world environments. Hao's most celebrated contributions center on soft robotic grippers and manipulators, including an underwater soft manipulator for shallow-water collection tasks (224 citations) and a universal pneumatic gripper with variable effective finger length (205 citations), both of which demonstrate his talent for translating biological principles into functional engineering solutions. His multimodal enveloping gripper — combining shape conformation, bioinspired adhesion, and suction — further showcases his innovative approach to versatile grasping challenges (139 citations). Beyond grippers, Hao has made notable contributions to soft sensing technology, including electromagnetically shielded soft force sensors, and to rehabilitation robotics through variable-stiffness gloves for stroke patients with clenched fist deformity. His 2022 review of smart materials for soft robotics (128 citations) reflects his broad command of the field. Across his career, Hao has consistently bridged fundamental research and real-world deployment, making his work essential reading for anyone entering soft robotics or wearable assistive technologies.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   A soft manipulator for efficient delicate grasping in shallow water: Modeling, control, and real-world experiments

   224 citations · 2020
2. 2
   Universal soft pneumatic robotic gripper with variable effective length

   205 citations · 2016
3. 3
   A Multimodal, Enveloping Soft Gripper: Shape Conformation, Bioinspired Adhesion, and Expansion-Driven Suction

   139 citations · 2020
4. 4
   A Review of Smart Materials for the Boost of Soft Actuators, Soft Sensors, and Robotics Applications

   128 citations · 2022
5. 5
   Modeling and experiments of a soft robotic gripper in amphibious environments

   126 citations · 2017
6. 6
   A Soft Bionic Gripper with Variable Effective Length

   123 citations · 2018
7. 7
   Shielded soft force sensors

   84 citations · 2022
8. 8
   A variable stiffness soft robotic gripper with low-melting-point alloy

   46 citations · 2017
9. 9
   Design, Modeling and Experiments of a Variable Stiffness Soft Robotic Glove for Stroke Patients With Clenched Fist Deformity

   34 citations · 2023
10. 10
    Beyond Soft Hands: Efficient Grasping With Non-Anthropomorphic Soft Grippers

    26 citations · 2021

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links