Yizong Li Successfully Defends PhD Dissertation on Untethered Soft Robotic Systems with Wireless Sensing, Actuation, and Power
Congratulations to Yizong Li, a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook University, who successfully defended their doctoral dissertation on July 16. Li’s dissertation, “Untethered Soft Platforms with Wireless Actuation, Sensing, and Power,” advances the development of next-generation soft robotic systems by integrating wireless sensing, actuation, and power capabilities into untethered platforms.
Li’s research explores the design, fabrication, and demonstration of soft robotic technologies with potential applications in minimally invasive biomedical systems and autonomous robotics. The dissertation presents an untethered soft robotic platform inspired by kirigami art, (a technique similar to origami that can produce complex shapes from one sheet of cut paper) that can navigate within the body, transport passive sensors, and enable real-time biomedical monitoring. The work also introduces a grayscale ultraviolet light processing technique to create programmable soft actuators capable of complex shape changes and biomimetic motions inspired by organisms such as caterpillars and octopuses. In addition, Li developed an omnidirectional magnetoelectric transducer array for compact and reliable wireless power transfer, demonstrating applications including powering LED arrays, charging capacitors, enabling biohybrid actuation, and delivering power to an untethered capsule robot.
Together, these contributions establish a framework for wireless soft platforms that combine sensing, movement, and power delivery, helping to advance the future of bioelectronic devices and robotic systems.
Li’s Faculty Advisor, Professor Shanshan Yao highlighted the significance of Li’s interdisciplinary research and its broader impact on the future of soft robotics:
Yizong’s research excellence is marked by groundbreaking, interdisciplinary contributions across Functional Materials (such as liquid crystal elastomer and magnetoelectric composites) and Smart Structures (such as snakeskin-inspired structures, flytrap-integrated biohybrid actuators). His work has contributed to critical areas including battery-less sensing, untethered magnetic/photothermal actuation, and alignment-tolerant wireless energy transfer. This broad and deep portfolio of research showcases his exceptional capacity for fundamental research and impactful applications.
Li’s successful dissertation defense marks an important milestone in their academic journey and reflects their significant contributions to the field of mechanical engineering and soft robotics. Congratulations to Dr. Li on this outstanding achievement.