Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Wei-Kuo Yen is a leading researcher in biomimetic underwater robotics, specializing in the use of hydrodynamic pressure feedback for autonomous control. His work focuses on enabling robotic fish to sense and respond to their fluid environment, much like real fish use their lateral lines. Yen’s most influential contribution is a method for controlling a robotic fish to swim along a wall using real-time pressure measurements, a technique designed for museum exhibits where the robot must navigate transparent aquarium boundaries. This work, published in 2018, has garnered 50 citations and is complemented by a 2020 study on using pressure sensor arrays for leader-follower localization between two robotic fish. His research also explores phase-locked control, allowing a robotic fish to follow an oscillating pressure source, with applications in coordinated multi-vehicle missions. Yen’s innovative use of PVDF sensors to subtract self-generated pressure from environmental signals has advanced the field of biomimetic sensing. With a total of nearly 100 citations across his key papers, Yen is recognized for bridging biological principles and engineering design, creating underwater vehicles that operate autonomously in complex, real-world aquatic environments.