Yi-Hsuan “Nemo” Hsiao

Yi-Hsuan “Nemo” Hsiao is a PhD candidate whose research lies at the intersection of soft robotics, micro-robotics, and aerial robotics. Specifically, Nemo is leading the development of bumblebee- inspired aerial robots powered by artificial soft muscles, with the goal of achieving resilient robotic flight in cluttered environments. Drawing on numerous MathWorks tools, he has successfully developed robots with novel insect-like functions such as low-cost localization, damage resilience, extended flight endurance, nimble maneuverability, and collaborative behaviors. A MathWorks Fellowship will support his continued research to implement state-of-the-art control algorithms to enable highly agile maneuvers, study the collective intelligence of robot swarms, and advance the capabilities of these robots to execute complex tasks such as assisted pollination. Nemo’s path-breaking research is yielding tools and approaches of significant benefit to the MathWorks community and holds great promise to advance micro-robotics for a broad spectrum of applications.