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About

Nana Zhu is a pioneering researcher in the field of soft robotics, with a primary focus on bio-inspired locomotion and climbing mechanisms. Her most significant contribution is the development of the "Soft Rod-Climbing Robot Inspired by Winding Locomotion of Snake" (2020), which has garnered 205 citations—a testament to its breakthrough impact. This work solved the long-standing challenge of enabling soft robots to climb the outer surfaces of rods or tubes with agility and efficiency, drawing directly from the winding movements of snakes. Zhu further advanced the field with her "Quadruped Soft Robot for Climbing Parallel Rods" (2020), a versatile design integrating four bending actuators and a telescopic actuator for inspecting challenging environments like nuclear pipelines and high-voltage cables. Her research also explores the effects of scale on bionic snake robot crawling rates and the programmable design of soft actuators capable of complex motions such as bending-twisting and winding. By bridging biological inspiration with practical engineering, Zhu has established herself as a leading innovator in soft climbing robotics, addressing critical challenges in inspection and manipulation in confined or hazardous spaces.