Dr Lin Cao
PhD
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Lecturer
Assistant Professor
+44 114 222 5552
Full contact details
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Amy Johnson Building
Portobello Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
-
Dr Lin Cao received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2015 from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, with research on compliant robotic systems and soft robotics. He was a visiting scholar in the Interactive Mechanisms and Mechatronics lab, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, in 2013. In 2016, He joined the medical robotics research group at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, as a Research Fellow and a team leader. In Jan. 2021, He was invited to attend the Global Young Scientists Summit in Singapore. In June 2021, Dr. Cao joined the University of Sheffield as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Medical Robotics.
Dr Cao’s main research interests include flexible endoscopic surgical robots, soft robots, and compliant robotic systems. Collaborating with clinicians and industrial collaborators, he strives to develop flexible/soft robotics technologies that enable medical diagnosis and treatment with minimal invasiveness. These technologies are rigorously developed and tested, in both in-vivo animal trials and human trials, with the ultimate goal of making a real difference for the healthcare of patients.
Dr Cao is interested in both theoretical and applied research, ranging from modelling the friction in medical tools to developing robots that remove cancer tumours or repair perforations in the digestive tract. His theoretical work on the design theory of compliant robotic systems was featured by ASME Journal of Mechanical design; an applied work on the flexible endoscopic robotic suturing system was a finalist of the ‘Surgical Robot Challenge’ at Imperial College London, and he also won the ‘Best Presentation Award’ on the Congress of European Association for Endoscopic Surgery at the Amazing Technologies session. He also holds a few intellectual properties.
Dr Cao is an Associate Editor for IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters and an Editorial Member of Drones and Autonomous Vehicles. He also edited a Special Issue for Frontiers in Robotics and AI as a Guest Editor and led a workshop at the IEEE flagship conference, International Conference in Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2023).
- Qualifications
-
Ph. D. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Research Fellow in medical robotics, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Research interests
-
Medical Robots, Soft Robots, and Compliant Robotic Systems.
Advanced Robotics for Medicine Lab (ARMed Lab): arming doctors with advanced robotic technologies to fight against diseases and to protect patients for health.
- Publications
-
Journal articles
- Design of soft robots: a review of methods and future opportunities for research. Machines, 12(8). View this article in WRRO
- Development of non-invasive flexible directional microwave ablation for central lung cancer: a simulation study. Physics in Medicine & Biology, 69(9), 09NT04-09NT04.
- A Heuristically Accelerated Reinforcement Learning-Based Neurosurgical Path Planner. Cyborg and Bionic Systems, 4.
- Modeling and ex vivo experimental validation of liver tissue carbonization with laser ablation. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 217, 106697-106697.
- Can the shape of a planar pathway be estimated using proximal forces of inserting a flexible shaft?. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 8. View this article in WRRO
- EndoPil: A Magnetically Actuated Swallowable Capsule for Weight Management: Development and Trials. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 49(5), 1391-1401.
- A Three-axial Force Sensor Based on Fiber Bragg Gratings for Surgical Robots. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 1-1.
- A Frictional Contact-Pattern-Based Model for Inserting a Flexible Shaft Into Curved Channels. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 1-12.
- Tri-Manipulation: An Evaluation of Human Performance in 3-Handed Teleoperation. IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, 2(4), 545-548.
- Sewing up the Wounds: A Robotic Suturing System for Flexible Endoscopy. IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, 27(3), 45-54.
- A Temperature-Dependent, Variable-Stiffness Endoscopic Robotic Manipulator with Active Heating and Cooling. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 48(6), 1837-1849.
- A Subject-Specific Four-Degree-of-Freedom Foot Interface to Control a Surgical Robot. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 25(2), 951-963.
- Force Sensing With 1 mm Fiber Bragg Gratings for Flexible Endoscopic Surgical Robots. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 25(1), 371-382.
- An Integrated Sensor-Model Approach for Haptic Feedback of Flexible Endoscopic Robots. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 48(1), 342-356.
- Deep learning for haptic feedback of flexible endoscopic robot without prior knowledge on sheath configuration. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 163, 105129-105129.
- Performance Evaluation of a Foot Interface to Operate a Robot Arm. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 4(4), 3302-3309.
- A Novel Methodology for Comprehensive Modeling of the Kinetic Behavior of Steerable Catheters. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 24(4), 1785-1797.
- Distal-end force prediction of tendon-sheath mechanisms for flexible endoscopic surgical robots using deep learning. Mechanism and Machine Theory, 134, 323-337.
- Design and modelling of a variable stiffness manipulator for surgical robots. Mechatronics, 53, 109-123.
- Topology optimization of efficient and strong hybrid compliant mechanisms using a mixed mesh of beams and flexure hinges with strength control. Mechanism and Machine Theory, 121, 213-227.
- Toward a Unified Design Approach for Both Compliant Mechanisms and Rigid-Body Mechanisms: Module Optimization. Journal of Mechanical Design, 137(12).
- Hybrid Compliant Mechanism Design Using a Mixed Mesh of Flexure Hinge Elements and Beam Elements Through Topology Optimization. Journal of Mechanical Design, 137(9).
- A Three-Limb Teleoperated Robotic System with Foot Control for Flexible Endoscopic Surgery. Annals of Biomedical Engineering.
- On understanding of design problem formulation for compliant mechanisms through topology optimization. Mechanical Sciences, 4(2), 357-369.
Conference proceedings papers
- A Retractable Soft Growing Robot with a Flexible Backbone. 2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 1 October 2023 - 5 October 2023.
- Design of soft robots: a review of methods and future opportunities for research. Machines, 12(8). View this article in WRRO
- Grants
-
Current Grants
- SmartTennis: An Intelligent Player-Centred Ball Launch System for Tennis Training, Internal, 06/2024 - 05/2025, £45,991.00, as Co-PI
- Development of a Submillimetre Steerable Robotic Bronchoscope with Cellular-Resolution Microscopy, Royal Society, 03/2024 - 03/2026, £11,300, as co-PI
Past Grants
- Robotic Exoskeletal Sleeve for Flexible Endoscopic Surgery, Royal Society, 12/2022 - 05/2024, £19,888, as PI
- Teaching interests
-
- ACS6121 Mobile Robotics and Autonomous Systems