Xiaoliang Chen

About

Xiaoliang Chen is a leading researcher in flexible electronics, soft robotics, and bio-inspired sensing systems, whose work bridges materials science, mechanical engineering, and human-machine interaction. His most influential contribution — a flexible capacitive pressure sensor enhanced by tilted micropillar arrays (2019, 449 citations) — demonstrated how geometric microstructure design can dramatically improve sensor sensitivity, a breakthrough with far-reaching implications for wearable electronics and smart robotics. Building on this foundation, Chen has pioneered advances in piezoelectric tactile sensors, multimodal hydrogel-based sensing interfaces, and bioinspired robot skin capable of perceiving sliding tactile stimuli, the latter inspired by the lateral gating mechanisms of biological mechanosensory cells. His 2023 work on high-performance hydrogel sensors for rehabilitation (239 citations) exemplifies his commitment to translating fundamental research into meaningful clinical and assistive technologies. Chen has also made notable contributions to smart adhesives, 3D-printed piezoelectric nanocomposites, and liquid-crystal elastomer artificial muscles. With over 1,300 cumulative citations across his top publications, his research consistently advances the frontier of intelligent, biomimetic systems essential for next-generation robotics and healthcare applications.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Flexible Capacitive Pressure Sensor Enhanced by Tilted Micropillar Arrays

   449 citations · 2019
2. 2
   High‐Performance Hydrogel Sensors Enabled Multimodal and Accurate Human–Machine Interaction System for Active Rehabilitation

   239 citations · 2023
3. 3
   Bioinspired robot skin with mechanically gated electron channels for sliding tactile perception

   111 citations · 2022
4. 4
   3D printed piezoelectric BNNTs nanocomposites with tunable interface and microarchitectures for self-powered conformal sensors

   100 citations · 2020
5. 5
   An Electrically Actuated Soft Artificial Muscle Based on a High-Performance Flexible Electrothermal Film and Liquid-Crystal Elastomer

   93 citations · 2020
6. 6
   Scalable Imprinting of Flexible Multiplexed Sensor Arrays with Distributed Piezoelectricity‐Enhanced Micropillars for Dynamic Tactile Sensing

   85 citations · 2020
7. 7
   Flexible three-axial tactile sensors with microstructure-enhanced piezoelectric effect and specially-arranged piezoelectric arrays

   83 citations · 2018
8. 8
   Sensing-triggered stiffness-tunable smart adhesives

   72 citations · 2023
9. 9
   Electrically active smart adhesive for a perching-and-takeoff robot

   46 citations · 2023
10. 10
    Gecko-Inspired Slant Hierarchical Microstructure-Based Ultrasensitive Iontronic Pressure Sensor for Intelligent Interaction

    43 citations · 2022

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links