DAI Jiansheng

DAI Jiansheng is a Chair Professor at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and Director of the Robotics Research Institute. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), Fellow of the Academia Europaea, and holds multiple fellowships including IEEE, ASME, RSA, and IMechE. As Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Robotica, he has established himself as a leading authority in mechanisms and robotics research.

His educational background includes a PhD from the University of Salford (1989-1993), a Master's degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (1982-1984), and a Bachelor's degree from the same institution (1978-1982). His academic journey has taken him from postdoctoral work at Salford University to research positions at Unilever Liverpool Research Centre before becoming a faculty member at the University of Sunderland and ultimately King's College London, where he served as Reader and then Chair Professor from 2007 until his current position at SUSTech.

Professor Dai's research spans theoretical kinematics, screw theory, Lie algebra, and their applications to metamorphic and reconfigurable mechanisms. His pioneering work bridges the gap between versatile but expensive robots and efficient but non-flexible machines. His research interests include origami-inspired robotics, rehabilitation robotics for ankle treatment, soft robotics, and industrial applications in packaging and manufacturing. His theoretical framework has enabled significant advances in reconfigurable parallel mechanisms and metamorphic robotics.

His extensive publication record shows a clear progression from fundamental theoretical work on screw algebra and Lie groups to practical applications in rehabilitation, manufacturing, and soft robotics. Recent publications demonstrate increasing focus on soft robotics, variable stiffness actuators, and continuum robots with Shape Memory Alloy applications, while maintaining strong theoretical foundations in screw theory and kinematic analysis of metamorphic mechanisms.

• ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award (2015)
• ASME Machine Design Award (2020)
• IFToMM Excellence Award (2023)
• Tianjin Municipal Natural Science First Prize (2021)
• Crossley Award (2018)
• AT Yang Award in Theoretical Kinematics (2019)

Professor Dai has supervised over 50 PhD students who now hold faculty positions at world-leading universities including University College London, Queen Mary University London, Purdue University, and Wollongong University. His research has been supported by numerous grants enabling the establishment of advanced robotics laboratories and international collaborations. He founded the IEEE Triennial International Conference on Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots (ReMAR), creating a major platform for international scholarly exchange in this specialized field. His research group maintains strong industry partnerships with companies including Cambridge Consultants, Goldman Sachs, and Amazon.

The Robotics Research Institute he directs at SUSTech serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research, bringing together experts in mechanical engineering, computer science, biomedical engineering, and materials science. The institute focuses on both fundamental theoretical advances in mechanism design and practical applications in healthcare, manufacturing, and service robotics, with particular emphasis on metamorphic and reconfigurable systems that can adapt to multiple tasks.