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Dr Yunjie Yang is the recipient of a prestigious European grant which funds researchers of any nationality to run cutting-edge research projects across Europe.
Dr Yunjie Yang, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, has been awarded a €1.5 million European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant. This award is part of the Horizon Europe programme, which supports early-career researchers in pursuing high-risk and high-impact projects across Europe. Dr Yang is among 494 talented researchers selected this year, sharing a total funding pool of €780 million.
The ERC Starting Grant is designed to help promising young scientists with two to seven years of post-PhD experience establish their research teams and launch cutting-edge research projects. The grants cover a wide range of disciplines, from engineering and physical sciences to life sciences and humanities. Established in 2007 by the European Union, the ERC is the premier funding body for frontier research in Europe.
SELECT project: Advancing soft robotics with smart e-skins
Dr Yang’s project, titled Smart e-skins for life-like soft robot perception (SELECT), aims to revolutionise the field of soft robotics by developing advanced electronic skins, or e-skins, that mimic the sensory abilities of living organisms. The project is set to address a critical challenge in robotics: enabling soft robots, which are made from flexible materials, to perceive themselves and their environment with similar adaptability and precision as biological systems.
Soft robots are known for their potential in various sectors, including healthcare, where their flexibility and safety make them ideal for applications such as rehabilitation and patient care. However, current soft robots lack sophisticated perception systems, limiting their ability to operate autonomously in complex and unstructured environments. The SELECT project seeks to overcome these limitations by pioneering e-skins that integrate both proprioception (the sense of body position and movement) and exteroception (the sense of external stimuli, like touch).
Innovative computational and machine learning approaches
The SELECT project will develop a comprehensive computational framework to simulate and optimize the integration of e-skins with soft robots. This framework will include field-coupling models to simulate both the mechanical and sensory aspects of the robots, automated e-skin design pipelines using machine learning, e-skin data to perception translation algorithms, and real-world deployment strategies different soft robots.
Dr Yang’s research is expected to lead to significant advancements in soft robotic perception, with potential applications in fields ranging from healthcare to artificial intelligence. The project promises to enhance the self-awareness of robots, expand their application scope, and ultimately, reshape our interaction with intelligent systems.
Dr Yang is working with Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialisation service, to commercialise his e-skin technology.
Impact and future prospects
By equipping soft robots with life-like sensory perception, this research could lead to significant advancements in various industries. In healthcare, soft robots with enhanced perception could assist in delicate surgical procedures or provide personalised care for patients. Beyond healthcare, these robots could be used in environments that are hazardous or challenging for humans, such as deep-sea exploration or disaster response.
Dr Yang’s research could also have broader implications for the field of artificial intelligence, as the algorithms and computational models developed during the project may inform the design of more advanced and adaptable AI systems.
Dr Yunjie Yang said:
"I am truly honoured to receive the ERC Starting Grant. This grant will allow me to push the boundaries of soft robotics research and develop new technologies that could transform the way we interact with machines. I am grateful to my colleagues and collaborators who have supported me throughout this journey."
Professor Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council, added:
"Empowering researchers early on in their careers is at the heart of the mission of the ERC. I am particularly pleased to welcome UK researchers back to the ERC. They have been sorely missed over the past years. With fifty grants awarded to researchers based in the UK, this influx is good for the research community overall."
This ground-breaking project marks a significant step forward in the field of soft robotics, with far-reaching implications for the future of human-robot interaction and intelligent system design.
