Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Phuoc Thanh Tran-Ngoc is an innovative robotics researcher whose work sits at the fascinating intersection of biological systems and engineering, with a primary focus on cyborg insects, bioinspired robotics, and autonomous navigation. His most celebrated contribution is the development of insect-computer hybrid robots — living insects integrated with miniature electronic controllers — which overcome fundamental size and power limitations that plague conventional small-scale robots. His 2023 paper on intelligent cyborg insects, garnering 59 citations, demonstrated that insects' innate locomotion capabilities could be harnessed for Urban Search and Rescue missions, enabling obstacle negotiation and onboard human detection without prohibitive engineering overhead. Building on this foundation, Tran-Ngoc extended his work to swarm navigation of cyborg insects across complex terrains (29 citations) and automated assembly pipelines for manufacturing these hybrid systems at scale. Complementing his cyborg research, he has made notable contributions to bioinspired mechanical design, including insect-inspired robotic legs and soft expandable claw mechanisms that enable miniature robots to climb mesh surfaces. Collectively, his portfolio reflects a deep commitment to solving real-world mobility challenges by learning directly from nature's millions of years of evolutionary refinement.