Physical Human–Robot Interaction and Haptics

Active regulation and perception of robot–environment interaction

Physical interaction lies at the heart of many robotic applications, from surgical robotics to assistive devices and wearable technologies. My research focuses on enabling robots to actively regulate mechanical interaction with their environment while improving human perception through wearable haptic interfaces. This work combines model-based interaction control, compliance regulation and haptic technologies to achieve safer, more intuitive and more effective physical human–robot interaction.

Active Interactive Compliance Regulation

Soft robots possess intrinsic compliance, but their passive mechanical behaviour cannot always satisfy the requirements of different manipulation tasks. This project investigates active compliance regulation, enabling the apparent stiffness of a soft robot to be stiffened or softened.

The proposed framework builds on analytical robot models, allowing the robot to exhibit either softer or stiffer responses than its natural passive compliance. This capability improves force regulation, environmental adaptation and interaction safety during contact-rich manipulation.

Model-based active regulation of the interactive compliance of soft continuum robots.

Demonstration

Wearable Haptic Fingertip Device

Haptic feedback plays an essential role in restoring the sense of touch during robot-assisted interventions. As part of a multidisciplinary team at University College London, I contributed to the development of a bio-inspired wearable fingertip device capable of reproducing realistic tactile sensations.

Working as a Research Assistant, I further developed the system electronics and control interface and, together with Dr. Wenlong Gaozhang, designed a fully portable hardware platform to improve the technology readiness of the device. The system has potential applications in robot-assisted surgery by restoring tactile perception during interaction with biological tissues, while also providing a platform for quantitative assessment of fingertip sensory function.

The project was led by Dr. Sara-Adela Abad Guaman and Prof. Helge A. Wurdemann at UCL, and was featured by several international media outlets, including the Financial Times, The Standard and The Independent.

Portable wearable fingertip device for restoring tactile perception during human–robot interaction.

Variable-Stiffness Collaborative Robots

Led by Dr. Wenlong Gaozhang from the University of Essex and in collaboration with researchers from King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, and UCL, we developed a modular collaborative robot incorporating variable-stiffness bending joints, rotational joints and links. Inspired by antagonistic actuation, the system can adapt its configuration and stiffness for safe physical interaction across healthcare and industrial tasks.

Demonstration

  1. D. Zhou and J. Shi,
    Hybrid Position–Compliance Control for Selective Stiffening and Softening in Soft Continuum Robots,
    IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2026.
    [PDF]

  2. J. Shi, S.-A. Abad, G. Shi, W. Gaozhang, J. S. Dai and H. A. Wurdemann,
    Model-Based Static Compliance Analysis and Control for Pneumatic-Driven Soft Robots,
    IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2025.
    [PDF]

  3. W. Gaozhang, Y. Li, J. Shi, K. Althoefer, A. Stilli, and H. A. Wurdemann,
    A modular variable stiffness co‐bot system achieving tasks flexibility and contact compliance,
    Advanced Science, 2026.
    [PDF]