Jiewen Lai
Jiewen Lai

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Electronic Engineering, CUHK
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University

Office: SHB313, CUHK Email: jiewen.lai [æ] cuhk.edu.hk
Scholar Bio

I conduct research in flexible robotics, mechatronics, perception, sensorimotor control, robophysics, and robot/mechano-intelligence, with the goal of developing robust, compliant, and intelligent deformable robotic systems.

I received my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2022, where I was advised by Henry K. Chu and Li Cheng. From 2022 to 2023, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at CUHK, working with Hongliang Ren. In Fall 2023, I was promoted to Research Assistant Professor in the same department. In 2026, I joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University as a Visiting Assistant Professor, working with Mark R. Cutkosky.

News

Selected Publications
EndoDDC
EndoDDC: Learning Sparse to Dense Reconstruction for Endoscopic Robotic Navigation Via Diffusion Depth Completion
Yinheng Lin†, Yiming Huang†, Beilei Cui, Long Bai, Huxin Gao, Hongliang Ren, Jiewen Lai*
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2026  (Accepted)
pdf code
tl;dr: A diffusion-based depth completion framework integrating images, sparse depth, and gradients for robust endoscopic depth estimation.
Single twistable tendon-driven continuum robots
Single Twistable Tendon-Driven Continuum Robots
Jiewen Lai†, Yanjun Liu†, Tian-Ao Ren, Yan Ma, Tao Zhang, Jeremy Teoh, Mark R. Cutkosky, Hongliang Ren*
Nature Communications, 2026  (Accepted) 🥈 Silver Medal @51st Int'l Exhibition of Inventions Genève
website video code
tl;dr: We investigate how continuum robots move when their tendons are twisted.
Gravity-Aware Proactive Joint-Level Compensation
Gravity-Aware Proactive Joint-Level Compensation for Portable Soft Slender Robots Using A Single IMU and Real-Time Simulation
Jiewen Lai†, Tian-Ao Ren†, Pengfei Ye, Yanjun Liu, Jingyao Sun, Hongliang Ren*
The International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR), 2026
pdf DOI
tl;dr: Embodying gravity sensation in soft slender robots with a minimalist setup.
Innovating Robot-assisted Surgery
Innovating Robot-Assisted Surgery through Large Vision Models
Zhe Min†, Jiewen Lai†, Hongliang Ren*
Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering, 2025
pdf DOI Nature Portfolio Repost
tl;dr: A Perspective on how large vision models transform 'surgical robots' into 'robotic surgeons.'
Large-Scale Selective Micropatterning
Large-Scale Selective Micropatterning with Robotics nDEP Tweezers and Hydrogel Encapsulation
Kaicheng Huang, Jiewen Lai, Hongliang Ren, Chunhui Wu, Xing Cheng, Henry K. Chu*
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2024
pdf
tl;dr: Patterning micro particles (cells) using nDEP tweezer in batches and encapsulating them into hydrogel for tissue engineering.
Gesture-based Steering Framework
Gesture-Based Steering Framework for Redundant Soft Robots
Jiewen Lai, Bo Lu, Kaicheng Huang, Henry K. Chu*
IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics (T-MECH), 2024
pdf video code
tl;dr: A steering framework for redundant soft manipulators using real-time hand motion and gestures.
Sim-to-Real Transfer
Sim-to-Real Transfer of Soft Robotic Navigation Strategies That Learns from the Virtual Eye-in-Hand Vision
Jiewen Lai†, Tian-Ao Ren†, Wenchao Yue, Shijian Su, Jason Chan, Hongliang Ren*
IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics (T-II), 2023
pdf video code sofa archive
tl;dr: Transferring navigation strategies learned in SOFA-based virtual worlds to the real world.
Lightweight Pneumatically Elastic Backbone
Lightweight Pneumatically Elastic Backbone Structure with Modular Construction and Nonlinear Interaction for Soft Actuators
Yang Yang, Jiewen Lai, Chaochao Xu, Zhiguo He, Pengcheng Jiao, Hongliang Ren*
Soft Robotics (SoRo), 2023
pdf videos
tl;dr: Robotizing any strip-shaped balloons with mechanically programmed 3D-printed shells.
Reconstructing External Force
Reconstructing External Force on the Circumferential Body of Continuum Robot With Embedded Proprioceptive Sensors
Qingxiang Zhao, Jiewen Lai, Henry K. Chu*
IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics (T-IE), 2022
pdf video
tl;dr: Endowing proprioception to soft robots with embedded eGaIn vein through learning.
Constrained Motion Planning
Constrained Motion Planning of A Cable-Driven Soft Robot with Compressible Curvature Modeling
Jiewen Lai, Bo Lu, Henry K. Chu*
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), 2022
pdf video 1 video 2 code
tl;dr: Tip pose and whole-body motion planning of a 7-DOF soft robot in constrained environments.
Variable-Stiffness Control
Variable-Stiffness Control of A Dual-Segment Soft Robot using Depth Vision
Jiewen Lai, Bo Lu, Henry K. Chu*
IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics (T-MECH), 2021
pdf video
tl;dr: Controlling soft robot 3D motion & stiffness in real time with antagonistic cable actuation based on depth vision.
Verticalized-Tip Trajectory Tracking
Verticalized-Tip Trajectory Tracking of A 3D-Printable Soft Continuum Robot: Enabling Surgical Blood Suction Automation
Jiewen Lai, Kaicheng Huang, Bo Lu, Qingxiang Zhao, Henry K. Chu*
IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics (T-MECH), 2021
pdf video
tl;dr: Configuration constraints on a redundant soft robot, with rapid IK and image-based liquid suction planning.
Toward Vision-based Adaptive Configuring
Toward Vision-Based Adaptive Configuring of A Bidirectional Two-Segment Soft Continuum Manipulator
Jiewen Lai, Kaicheng Huang, Bo Lu, and Henry K. Chu*
IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), 2020
pdf video
tl;dr: Steering a two-segment soft robot's 2D pose with eye-to-hand vision in real-time, regardless of static payload.
Research Grants
Teaching