Robotics | Mechanisms | Origami
Ph.D. student, Queen's University & Ingenuity Labs Research Institute, Kingston, Canada
I am Diancheng Li (李典成), a direct-entry Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Queen's University, supervised by Dr. Matthew A. Robertson. My research focuses on deployable and reconfigurable robotic systems inspired by origami and novel integrating mechanism design, modular robotics, and compact pneumatic actuation.
Before joining Queen's, I worked as a Research Assistant at the Southern University of Science and Technology with Dr. Hongqiang Wang, where I developed multi-DOF actuators with soft pneumatic origami. I also studied on electroadhesion. I received my B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) in 2021.
Selected projects in origami robotics, mechanisms, locomotion, and pneumatic systems.
Ultra-thin 2/2- and 3/2-way pneumatic valves combine laminated structures, compliant bistability, and shape-memory-alloy actuation. A brief pulse switches each valve, which then remains mechanically latched with zero holding power.
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Inspired by the Jacob's Ladder toy, FlipWalker combines wheeled driving and cyclic flipping to traverse rough terrain, bridge gaps, and climb obstacles. Its cable-connected segments switch their rotation axis passively as the robot moves.
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Kresling-pattern silicone pneumatic actuators generate more than one full revolution of coupled twisting and contraction. Modular configurations enable dexterous grippers, deployable robot arms, and steerable soft snake robots.
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A dexterous soft gripper integrates bellow and origami-inspired twisting actuators. Coupled shrinking and in-plane rotation support gentle grasping of fragile, flat, and irregular objects while enabling in-hand manipulation.
View project† first author | * corresponding author
The International Journal of Robotics Research (under review)
Under review2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2025)
IROS Best Paper Award finalist IROS Best Entertainment & Amusement Paper finalistSoft Robotics, 10(2): 395-409 (2023)
Most cited article in this journal in the last 3 years - Sage Journals, 20252021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO 2021)