Keynote Speaker
Guilin YANG
Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
BIO: Professor Guilin Yang currently serves as the Chair of the Academic Committee at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Vice Chair of the Robotics Branch of the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society. Focusing on robotics and intelligent manufacturing technologies, his work encompasses precision actuators, parallel robots, cable-driven robots, and industrial robotics. He has authored over 450 peer-reviewed papers and two academic monographs, in addition to holding more than 100 granted patents. His achievements have been recognized through a number of prestigious accolades, including the R&D 100 Awards, the First Prize of the Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, the China “Good Design” Gold Award, and the First Prize of the Ningbo Science and Technology Award.
Speech Title: Advances and Perspectives in Collaborative Robotics
Abstract: Unlike conventional industrial robots caged in isolated workspaces, collaborative robots (cobots) are purpose-built to safely interact and cooperate with human workers in co-shared environments. Owing to such advantages, collaborative robotics has witnessed significant progress in recent years. This presentation will deliver a comprehensive overview of research advances in collaborative robotics, including core component design (high-performance torque motors, precision zero-backlash planetary gear reducers, and back-drivable joint modules), system integration, compliant motion control, and application development. These research undertakings lay a foundational role in elevating the performance of cobot systems, and pave the way for the large-scale deployment of cobots across both manufacturing sectors and service industries.
Haoyong Yu
National University of Singapore, Singapore
BIO: Dr. Yu Haoyong is an Associate Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He received his bachelor’s degree and master’s Degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and his PhD degree from Massachusetts institute of Technology (MIT). He directs the Biorobotics Lab at NUS. His current research interests include biomedical robotics and devices, rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology, service robots, human robot interaction, intelligent control, and machine learning. He have published more than 250 journal papers in robotics and control areas and have applied for more than 20 international patents. His team has developed series of wearable robotics for medical and industrial applications. Prof. Yu is currently the Senior Editor of IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
Speech Title: Intelligent Wearable Robotics with Better Portability, Safety, and Comfort
Abstract: With the rapid population aging in many developed countries, wearable robotics, commonly known as exoskeleton robots, are believed to have wide applications in both industry and Healthcare. However, the current market size of wearable robotics is still quite small compared with other robotics sectors due to the limitations in portability, safety, and user comfort. At NUS Biorobotics Lab, we are developing a series of wearable robotics for rehabilitation and worker assistance. We adopt a modular approach based on a set of core technologies and components developed in the lab, which includes compliant actuation, cable drive mechanism, wearable sensors and learning based movement detection algorithms. We achieved better portability with novel differential mechanism design and cable driven transmission, safer human robot interaction with compliant actuation, and better human robot movement synchronization with novel sensing strategies. In this talk, I will give a brief introduction to some of our wearable robots in real world applications.
Dapeng Tan
Zhejiang University of Technology, China
BIO: Dapeng Tan received the Ph.D. degree from the College of Mechanical and Energy Engineering (CMEE), Zhejiang University at Hangzhou in 2008. Since 2008, he has been with the Key Laboratory of E&M (Zhejiang University of Technology), Ministry of Education & Zhejiang Province, as a lecturer, and became a professor in 2015. He has published more than 140 papers and gained more than 100 Chinese invention patents. He performed research in the areas of embedded system technology, vibration engineering & noise control, nonlinear signal processing and process equipment & control engineering. His research interests include soft sensing systems, dynamical pattern recognition and industrial process monitoring & diagnosis.
Aibin Zhu
Xi’an Jiaotong University, China
BIO: Aibin Zhu, professor and doctoral supervisor, studied under Academician Xie Youbai, one of the first batch of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He has conducted related research at Tsinghua University and the University of Southern California. He currently serves as Deputy Director of the Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robots and Head of the Department of Industrial Design at Xi'an Jiaotong University.
In his research, he has led two projects under the Ministry of Science and Technology's key R&D programs on intelligent robots and active health, two general projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and multiple key R&D projects of Shaanxi Province. His research interests include bio-electro-mechanical integration and intelligent robot technology, medical-engineering interdisciplinary robot technology, assistive devices for the elderly and disabled and intelligent rehabilitation technology, exoskeleton robots, rehabilitation robots, and medical-engineering cross-disciplinary surgical robots. He has published over 100 SCI/EI-indexed papers in domestic and international journals and has been granted 40 national invention patents. He has received the Second Prize of the Shaanxi Provincial Technological Invention Award, and two First Prizes of the Shaanxi Higher Education Scientific Research Outstanding Achievement Awards (ranked first).
Speech Title: Bio-Electro-Mechanical Integrated Wearable Human-Augmentation Exoskeleton Robots
Abstract: This keynote presents our research on bio-electro-mechanical integrated wearable exoskeleton robots for human augmentation. Driven by major demands in healthcare rehabilitation, military equipment, aerospace and industrial applications, the talk addresses three core scientific problems—human–robot bionic design, human–robot performance evaluation, and human‑robot collaborative control—under the mission of making humans stronger through exoskeleton robots. We introduce a family of lower-limb rehabilitation exoskeletons (unpowered, compliant cable-driven, ankle‑knee coupled, and SEA-based knee exoskeletons) offering multi-mode assistance tailored to diverse rehabilitation needs, together with a human-centered control strategy of “human leads, robot retreats.” The talk further reports a novel exoskeleton-assisted astronaut low-gravity locomotion simulation system, featuring trunk gravity support with passive static balance plus active compensation and a cable-driven lower-limb exoskeleton for hip/knee joint gravity-torque compensation. The talk outlines future directions in structural, motor, sensory and intelligence human augmentation.