Tongil Park

Korea Institute of Science and Technology

Papers

Total Citations

159

H-Index

About

Tongil Park is a leading researcher in the field of soft robotics, with a primary focus on bio-inspired actuation, soft grippers, and mobile soft robots. His work bridges the gap between biological systems and engineering, creating robots capable of delicate manipulation and agile locomotion. Park’s major contributions include the development of an electrohydraulic actuator for a soft gripper (92 citations), which combines electrostatic and hydraulic forces to achieve high actuation force for handling fragile objects. He also pioneered a soft mobile robot inspired by animal running motion (51 citations), featuring bimorph piezoelectric legs for efficient, narrow-path traversal. More recently, his ascidian-inspired soft robot (10 citations) demonstrates multi-modal capabilities—crawling, tumbling, and pick-and-place operations—showcasing versatility in unstructured environments. Park’s work is notable for its practical applications in human-robot interaction, search-and-rescue, and medical robotics. With a growing citation impact and a portfolio of innovative, nature-inspired designs, Tongil Park is recognized as a key contributor to advancing soft robotic systems that are safe, adaptable, and highly functional.