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About

Shoulu Gong is pioneering the frontier of soft robotics, where machines gain the dexterity and sensory intelligence of living systems. His research centers on bioinspired mechanoreception, self-sensing adaptability, and human-robot collaboration, addressing the fundamental tension between soft materials’ compliance and the precision required for real-world tasks. In his landmark 2022 work (21 citations), Gong introduced soft–rigid hybrid mechanoreceptive actuators (HMAs) that mimic the musculoskeletal structure of human hands, enabling grippers with powerful tactile sensation. He advanced this vision with an intelligent spinal soft robot (2024, 17 citations) that achieves self-sensing adaptability—a hallmark of biological intelligence—by seamlessly integrating sensors and actuators. Gong also tackled the practical challenge of programming soft robots: his 2024 study on a soft collaborative robot (11 citations) enables intuitive human drag teaching, a breakthrough for industrial human-robot collaboration. Further contributions include untethered cable-driven actuators for quadruped robots (2021, 9 citations) and high-precision control of antagonistic soft continuum robots (2025, 5 citations) for dexterous grasping and assembly. By bridging soft material compliance with robust control, Gong is transforming soft robots from laboratory curiosities into viable partners for manufacturing, healthcare, and beyond.