Jie Zhao

About

Jie Zhao is a pioneering robotics researcher whose work spans bioinspired robotics, soft actuators, tactile sensing, and nonlinear dynamics. Best known for bridging biological principles with cutting-edge engineering, Zhao has made landmark contributions to aquatic microrobotics, including the development of a water strider-inspired microrobot capable of walking and jumping on water surfaces — work that garnered over 150 and 79 citations respectively — along with theoretical investigations into the superhydrophobic mechanisms that make such locomotion possible. His research into piezoelectric robotics has produced both a highly cited piezo robotic hand enabling micro-to-macro manipulation (130 citations) and an arthropod-metamerism-inspired millirobot (120 citations), advancing miniaturized, high-precision robotic systems. Zhao's contributions extend to control theory, where his two-time-scale tracking control framework for wheeled mobile robots (149 citations) improved transient performance under real-world disturbances. His reviews on chaos, bifurcations, and passive dynamic walking (125 citations) reflect a sophisticated command of nonlinear dynamics in locomotion. With highly cited work in flexible tactile sensing and soft actuators, Zhao's research consistently pushes boundaries across multiple dimensions of intelligent robotics, making him an essential figure for students and researchers in the field.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Bioinspired Aquatic Microrobot Capable of Walking on Water Surface Like a Water Strider

   155 citations · 2011
2. 2
   Two Time-Scale Tracking Control of Nonholonomic Wheeled Mobile Robots

   149 citations · 2016
3. 3
   Piezo robotic hand for motion manipulation from micro to macro

   130 citations · 2023
4. 4
   Bifurcations and chaos in passive dynamic walking: A review

   125 citations · 2014
5. 5
   Arthropod‐Metamerism‐Inspired Resonant Piezoelectric Millirobot

   120 citations · 2021
6. 6
   Highly sensitive flexible three-axis tactile sensors based on the interface contact resistance of microstructured graphene

   115 citations · 2018
7. 7
   Applications of Chaotic Dynamics in Robotics

   113 citations · 2016
8. 8
   Biological Jumping Mechanism Analysis and Modeling for Frog Robot

   84 citations · 2008
9. 9
   A New Spiral-Type Inflatable Pure Torsional Soft Actuator

   81 citations · 2018
10. 10
    Why Superhydrophobicity Is Crucial for a Water-Jumping Microrobot? Experimental and Theoretical Investigations

    79 citations · 2012

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links