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About

Xirui Dai is a pioneering researcher at the forefront of soft robotics and self-powered sensing systems, with a primary focus on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for underwater and robotic applications. Their most impactful work, a palm-like 3D tactile sensor for underwater robot grippers (2024, 21 citations), introduces a liquid-metal-based TENG that enables grippers to detect both vertical and shear forces, mimicking the tactile intelligence of sea otters in low-visibility, high-noise ocean environments. This innovation directly addresses critical challenges in underwater manipulation, offering high sensitivity and power efficiency. Dai further advances the field with a liquid-metal-enhanced triboelectric whisker sensor (2025) for flow velocity measurement and collision detection, and an MXene/deep learning-driven hybrid sensor (2025) that integrates triboelectric and electromagnetic mechanisms for enhanced tactile and touchless perception in robotic hands. By merging novel materials with machine learning, Dai’s work pushes the boundaries of autonomous sensing, promising transformative impacts on marine robotics, human-machine interfaces, and environmental monitoring. Their research exemplifies a creative synthesis of bioinspiration, nanotechnology, and intelligent systems.