Qifan Yu

Qifan Yu is a graduate student in mechanical engineering, creating design and simulation frameworks for soft robotic systems with embodied intelligence. His research focuses on integrating material behavior, fabrication constraints, and sensor feedback into tools that support the co-design of compliant structures and embedded sensing. As a MathWorks Fellow, Qifan will advance multi-physics optimization strategies that couple actuators, sensor placement, and fabrication in the design of next-generation soft robots. He uses MATLAB to implement topology optimization routines, model soft elastomeric sensors, and simulate performance in high-deformation regimes. His work includes the design of counter-bending robotic fingers inspired by flagella and a soft optical waveguide sheet that reconstructs 3D surface shapes in real-time. Custom MATLAB tools enable him to explore waveguide configurations, simulate optical signal response, and minimize sensing error under fabrication noise. Qifan’s contributions could establish new paradigms for soft robot design, enabling programmable functionality and adaptive sensing in devices for human-robot interaction and soft robotics.