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About

Hengtai Dai is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robotics, human-machine interaction, and intelligent manufacturing. His work centers on three key areas: **robot grasping and manipulation**, **learning from demonstration (LfD)**, and **continuum robots for industrial inspection**. Dai’s major contribution lies in bridging the gap between human dexterity and robotic precision. He developed a wearable parallel hand exoskeleton that captures human grasping skills and transfers them to robots, significantly improving grasping quality and success rates (20 citations). This work addresses the fundamental "correspondence problem" in LfD by creating demonstration devices that map human motion directly to robotic actions. In a groundbreaking achievement for industrial robotics, Dai designed a continuum robot with inflatable stiffness-adjustable elements for in-situ aeroengine repair, demonstrated in collaboration with Rolls-Royce (14 citations). This system achieves a remarkable 10:1 expansion ratio and sub-1.17 mm precision, enabling thermal barrier coating repairs in confined spaces. With over 43 total citations and multiple first-author publications in 2022-2025, Dai is establishing himself as a leader in skill transfer and soft robotics, with his work promising safer, more adaptable automation for manufacturing and aerospace maintenance.