W.YWEI YUE

01 / RESEARCH

Distributed physical intelligence.

Instead of simply shrinking a conventional robot, I explore how intelligence and functionality can be distributed across algorithms, the physical body, and programmable external fields.

THE CENTRAL IDEA

Design. Embody. Act.

At millimeter scales, mass, energy, sensing, and onboard computation become severely constrained. My research reallocates these functions: computation discovers the design; materials and structures embody behavior; and external fields deliver power and control.

01 DESIGN02 EMBODY03 ACT
FIG. 01 Research framework — redistributing robotic functionality across computational design, physical embodiment, and external fields.
01 — DESIGN

Computational discovery
of physical systems.

I develop computational tools to discover effective structures before fabrication — from generative material design to active optimization of MEMS devices and robotic components. The goal is to move some of the engineering burden into design rather than onboard hardware.

RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS

Diffusion models for digital materials · Weakly coupled MEMS resonators · Reinforcement-learning-guided propeller and acoustic array design

FUTURE DIRECTION

Agentic body–field co-design connecting simulation, fabrication, and experiment.

FIG. 02 Computational design: MEMS resonators, flying-robot propellers, and acoustic actuator arrays.
02 — EMBODY

Encoding function
into robotic bodies.

Rather than relying on separate components for every function, I engineer geometry, compliance, and functional materials together. My bone-in-flesh magnetic actuators unite rapid response and large deformation; related soft machines embed damage recovery and electromechanical function.

RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS

Ultrafast magnetic bone-in-flesh actuators · Programmable soft deformation · Self-healing piezoelectric machines

FUTURE DIRECTION

Multifunctional microrobotic bodies integrating actuation, sensing, and mechanical adaptability.

FIG. 03 Embodied functionality: bone-in-flesh magnetic actuators and self-healing piezoelectric soft machines.
EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATIONS

Bone-in-Flesh actuators

Selected examples of compliance, programmable movement, and manipulation.

Advanced Functional Materials · 2024
Impact resilience

Drop-test demonstration of a bone-in-flesh magnetic soft actuator.

Advanced Functional Materials · 2024
Programmable deformation

An origami-inspired structure responds to an applied magnetic field.

Advanced Functional Materials · 2024
Magnetic soft gripper

Six-fingered grasping and release with magnetic actuation.

03 — ACT

Programmable fields
for motion and coordination.

External magnetic fields become shared infrastructure for power, motion, and collective behavior. This approach underlies our untethered subcentimeter flying robot and millimeter-scale magnetic swarms, shifting control demands away from onboard electronics.

RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS

9.4-mm wireless flying robot · Magnetic torque and field-gradient interactions · Crawling, rolling, and reconfigurable swarms

FUTURE DIRECTION

Field-programmed autonomy, passive stabilization, and differentiated collective responses.

FIG. 04 Field-programmed action: untethered flight and magnetic swarm-robot locomotion.
EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATIONS

Untethered flying robots

Flight experiments powered and guided by external magnetic fields.

Science Advances · 2025
Untethered takeoff

Upward flight of the subcentimeter magnetic robot.

Science Advances · 2025
Hovering demonstration

Magnetically driven hovering under alternating-field excitation.

Science Advances · 2025
Trajectory adjustment

Controlled route adjustments using magnetic field modulation.

Science Advances · 2025
Controlled flight demonstration

Maneuvering demonstration from the flying-robot experiments.

EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATIONS

Magnetic microrobots

Two fundamental locomotion modes demonstrated in the Transducers work.

Transducers · 2023
Independent crawling

Single-robot crawling under a weak alternating magnetic field.

Transducers · 2023
Rolling locomotion

Magnetically driven rolling motion of a millimeter-scale robot.

My long-term goal is body–field co-design as a foundation for autonomous microrobotic systems.

Explore all publications
RESEARCH STATEMENT / FIGURE