Yaolei Shen

Northwestern Polytechnical University, University of Twente

Papers

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About

Yaolei Shen is a robotics researcher focused on bio-inspired locomotion and aerial manipulation, with key contributions in miniature jumping robots and cable-suspended aerial systems. His early work on locust-inspired jumping robots (2018, 7 citations) introduced a six-bar mechanism that enables controlled, repeatable jumps in unstructured terrain, addressing the challenge of landing dispersion in miniature robots. This design, validated through prototype experiments, offers a practical solution for search-and-rescue and environmental monitoring in cluttered environments. More recently, Shen has advanced the control of aerial robots carrying flexible cables (2025, 6 citations), developing a spectral method-based optimal boundary control framework that models the quadrotor-cable system using partial differential equations. This work enables precise dynamic shape control of the cable, a critical capability for tasks like payload delivery and infrastructure inspection. By bridging bio-inspired design and sophisticated PDE-based control, Shen demonstrates versatility across both mechanical innovation and theoretical modeling. His research holds promise for expanding the operational capabilities of small-scale robots in complex, real-world settings.