Papers
23
Total Citations
810
H-Index
13
About
Jiewen Lai is a prominent robotics researcher whose work sits at the intersection of soft robotics, continuum robot control, and surgical automation. His research spans the design, modeling, sensing, and control of soft and cable-driven robotic systems, with a particular emphasis on enabling their deployment in complex, real-world environments including minimally invasive surgery. Lai's most influential contribution is a comprehensive review of soft pneumatic actuators (2022, 363 citations), which has become a foundational reference in the field, synthesizing advances across fabrication, control, and biomedical applications. Beyond survey work, he has made significant original contributions to continuum robot shape estimation, variable-stiffness control using depth vision, and constrained motion planning — collectively addressing the core challenges that limit soft robots in practical settings. His surgical robotics work is particularly notable, encompassing automated blood suction, stereo-vision-based suture thread reconstruction, and large vision model integration for robot-assisted surgery. Lai has also advanced sim-to-real transfer techniques and dynamic movement primitives for deformable object manipulation, broadening the applicability of learned robotic behaviors. With over 690 citations across his published work, his research has meaningfully shaped how the community approaches dexterous, safe, and intelligent soft robotic systems for healthcare and beyond.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 4Variable-Stiffness Control of a Dual-Segment Soft Robot Using Depth Vision51 citations · 2021
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- 9Innovating robot-assisted surgery through large vision models24 citations · 2025
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