Ming Luo

Ming Luo serves as the Flaherty Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University, with affiliate appointments as Assistant Professor in Biological Systems Engineering and at The Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems (CPAAS). Dr. Luo directs the MIAR (Mechatronics, Intelligent Automation, and Robotics) Lab with facilities in Dana Hall room 251 and the Engineering Teaching Research Laboratory (ETRL) 110 at the WSU Arboretum.

Dr. Luo's research focuses on autonomous robotic systems leveraging natural mechanical features to address fundamental challenges in modeling, sensing, control, and planning. Current projects include soft growing manipulators for apple harvesting (featured in The Wall Street Journal, 2025), soft wearable haptic devices, soft grippers for automated apple picking, and soft robotic snakes. Their work targets human-robot interaction applications in home care, search and rescue, and agricultural settings.

Analysis of Dr. Luo's recent publications reveals a strong interdisciplinary focus spanning robotics, materials science, and agricultural engineering. Key themes include soft robotic manipulation for delicate agricultural tasks, human-robot interaction in workplace settings, and development of novel protein-based materials for environmental applications. The research demonstrates a progression from fundamental soft robotics principles toward practical agricultural implementations.

• First place in IEEE ICRA 2017 soft robot speed challenge (Team leader)
• WPI Graduate student travel fund (2017)
• IEEE ICRA 2017 travel fund
• Best Paper Award nomination at IEEE RoboSoft 2020
• Best Paper Award nomination in HRI at IEEE ICRA 2020

Dr. Luo mentors multiple graduate students including PhD candidate Justin Allen and postdoc Kyle Yoshida. Research funding includes significant grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission (WTFRC) supporting agricultural robotics projects. The MIAR Lab has developed innovative soft robotic systems specifically designed for delicate fruit harvesting operations, demonstrating successful integration of soft robotics technology with precision agriculture needs.