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About

Dr. Yong Lei is a pioneering roboticist whose research bridges the critical gap between soft-tissue intervention and autonomous underwater maintenance. His most impactful work, "Needle steering for robot-assisted insertion into soft tissue: A survey" (42 citations), established foundational knowledge for flexible needle navigation, while his subsequent model-based path planning method (2017) introduced Vector Form Intrinsic Finite Element (VFIFE) analysis to account for needle-tissue interactions—a breakthrough for preoperative surgical planning. Dr. Lei further advanced surgical robotics by designing a kinaesthetic training system (2019) that integrates visual and force feedback for minimally invasive skill acquisition, and more recently developed a Digital Twin navigation system (2023) combining real-time visual and haptic guidance for needle insertion. Beyond the operating room, he engineered a novel swirling sucker mechanism for underwater wall-climbing robots (2018, 24 citations), optimizing centrifugal impeller blades to maximize suction force for concrete structure inspection. His latest work on anticorrosion coating maintenance robots (2024) addresses the hazardous task of preserving underwater steel infrastructure. With contributions spanning surgical robotics, human-machine interaction, and industrial automation, Dr. Lei’s research demonstrates a rare versatility—translating complex physical interactions into practical robotic systems that enhance precision in medicine and safety in hazardous environments.