Jane Li

Jane Li is an Assistant Professor in the Robotics Engineering Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), with affiliations in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science. Her research focuses on human-robot interaction, tele-nursing robots, and perception-action coupling in cyber-human systems. She leads interdisciplinary NSF-funded projects exploring future healthcare robotics and their societal impacts, collaborating with the Nursing Department at Worcester State University.

Education:

• B.S. Mechanical Engineering (China Agricultural University, 2006)
• M.S. Mechanical Engineering (University of Victoria, 2009)
• Ph.D. Computer Engineering (University of California, Santa Cruz, 2014)
• Postdoc in Electrical & Computer Engineering (Duke University, 2016)

Research Interests: Dr. Li designs human-robot interfaces for tele-nursing robots, exoskeletons for stroke rehabilitation, and tele-surgical systems. Her work emphasizes intuitive control, shared autonomy, and ergonomic design to support healthcare workers in high-stress environments like quarantine areas. Recent innovations include haptic feedback integration and augmented reality visual cues for teleoperation.

Article Trends: Her publications from 2020–2024 emphasize teleoperation interfaces, shared autonomy, and user-centered design. Key themes include reducing physical/mental workload for operators, evaluating human preference in feedback modalities, and modeling human motion patterns for robot control.

Awards:

• 2020 ICRA Best Paper Finalist (Human-Robot Interaction)
• Teaching Assistant Sabbatical (2014) for outstanding service
• Mei Wang Fellowship (2011) and UC Regent Fellowship (2009)

Grants & Collaborations:

• Lead co-PI on a $5.28M Army grant for human-AI interface evaluation
• Co-PI on a $1.76M SEMI-FlexTech grant for haptic gloves
• NSF-funded nursing robotics project ($731K)

Labs: Directs the Human-inspired Robotics Lab (HiRo) at WPI, focusing on assistive robotics and teleoperation systems.