About

Lilong Cai is a robotics and control systems researcher whose career spans over three decades, with foundational contributions to robot manipulator control, friction compensation, and, more recently, soft robotics. His most influential work centers on developing smooth robust nonlinear controllers for rigid robot manipulators, particularly addressing the persistent challenge of joint stick-slip friction — a problem that degrades both positioning accuracy and motion quality in robotic systems. His 2002 paper on smooth robust nonlinear control (54 citations) and his earlier 1994 work on friction compensation (38 citations) established him as a key voice in this specialized domain. Beyond friction, Cai made significant strides in simultaneous force and position control (45 citations) and pioneered a Fourier series-based learning controller for decentralized tracking (42 citations), offering elegant solutions for periodic trajectory tasks. His research also extended to multi-robot cooperation and collision-robust control under model uncertainty. In later years, Cai embraced the emerging field of soft robotics, contributing designs for pneumatic jumping robots and soft damping mechanisms. With a cumulative citation count exceeding 280 across his most notable works, his research offers enduring value to engineers and researchers working at the intersection of control theory and robotic systems.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

12
H-Index
28
Papers
384
Total Citations
14
Avg Citations/Paper
🏆 Most Cited Paper
A smooth robust nonlinear controller for robot manipulators with joint stick-slip friction
54 citations · 2002
📈 Most Prolific Year: 2002 (7 Papers)
🤝 Key Collaborators: 21
🏛 Institutions: Columbia University, University of Toronto, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Hong Kong

Top Papers

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Key Collaborators

Contact & Links

Available for collaboration
Content generated · 14 days ago