Ke Wu
Visiting Assistant Professor of Robotics
Research interests
Building on classical robotics, Professor Wu’s research primarily explores the fundamentals of deformable robotic systems such as soft robots, continuum robots, compliant mechanisms and more. He is particularly interested in the mathematical principles underlying these research areas, including differential and algebraic equations for modeling deformable robotic systems in complex multi-physics scenarios; modern optimization strategies for designing and optimizing deformable robotic systems; and controller design for manipulating deformable robotic systems. Professor Wu’s work is primarily aimed at addressing cutting-edge industry needs, with the goal of being able to translate academic findings into practical applications that benefit society. Email
Prior to joining MBZUAI, Professor was a master’s student working on Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs) for Rehabilitation under the supervision of Dr. Donal Holland, founder of the renowned Soft Robotics Toolkit at Harvard. At the same time, he collaborated with Dr. Guangbo Hao on his second master’s project, focusing on nano-compliant positioning stages within the CoMAR group at University College Cork. As a Ph.D. candidate in 2019, Wu joined DEFROST at INRIA, the primary contributor to the renowned SOFA Framework for modeling soft robots, before shifting his research to theoretical studies on deformable robotic systems, encompassing the design, modeling, and control of soft robots, continuum robots, compliant mechanisms, and more.
- Ph.D in Robotics from the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation, Lille, France, 2023.
- M.E. in Mechanical Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland, 2019.
- M.E. in Mechanical Engineering, Chongqing University, China, 2019.
- B.E. in Mechanical Design, Manufacturing, and Automation, Chongqing University, China, 2016.
- Member of the Intelligent Robots Young Experts committee of Gesellschaft Chinesischer informatiker in Deutschland, 2022 - current.
- Ke Wu, Gang Zheng: “A comprehensive static modeling methodology via beam theory for compliant mechanisms”, Mechanism and Machine Theory, 2022.
- Ke Wu, Gang Zheng: “Theoretical Analysis on Nonlinear Buckling, Post-Buckling of Slender Beams and Bi-Stable Mechanisms”, Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics, 2021.
- Ke Wu; Gang Zheng: “FEM-Based Gain-Scheduling Control of a Soft Trunk Robot”, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 2021.
- Ke Wu, Gang Zheng, Junfeng Zhang: “FEM-based trajectory tracking control of a soft trunk robot, Robotics and Autonomous Systems”, 2022.
- Wenbiao Wang, Xin Wang, Gang Zheng, Rui Chen, Zean Yuan, Jincheng Huang, Ke Wu, Guanjun Bao: “A modular soft pipe-climbing robot with high maneuverability", IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2024.